Burning Bright
by WhiskyFlower
Summary: Zuko discovers that there is more to Jin than he once thought. R and R. Flames accepted!
1. Part I

**Burning Bright**

_Part I_

The day after their disastrous date, Zuko had managed to set Iroh's Bonsai tree on fire, break three teacups and yell even louder than he normally did. He was a bundle of nerves. He was nervous at what would happen later in the day. He knew that Jin would not be fazed by the awkward way their date ended. She was much too determined.

Zuko cursed himself mentally nearly crushing the handle of the teapot. Of course she would be persistent, stubborn even. She was from the Earth Kingdom. His mind momentarily wafted to all those times his father would complain about how annoying the Earth Kingdom Resistance was because despite losing they still continued to hold their grounds.

"Prince Zuko, I bought these lovely Moon Flowers," Iroh called. Zuko flinched at how Iroh freely used his name and in an annoyed whisper he said, "Uncle! Not so loud!"

Iroh ignored him and set the bundle in the counter. It was early in the morning and Iroh and Zuko were opening the shop. Outside, the rain was pouring down heavily. Dark clouds encased the sky. Iroh didn't bother him with any more questions about their date although he kept on shooting meaningful glances and comments to Zuko.

"This is a fine replacement for the Bonsai tree you burned," Iroh said gathering the flowers and putting them in a vase. Zuko didn't answer. He was too busy planning ways to start a conversation without it resulting in more awkwardness.

"This will also add a decorative air to this drabby shop," Iroh continued as he arranged the flowers carefully. Then smirking he elbowed Zuko and playfully added, "Just what we need in case someone brings home a lady friend."

"Jin is not my lady friend!" Zuko retorted loudly causing some of the customers to look in their direction. When Zuko realized this, he flushed embarrassed. Muttering to himself he turned around and stormed to the back.

Zuko retreated to the back of the shop where he grumpily washed all the teacups. He was in a foul mood today although he could not understand the reason why. A part of him reasoned that it was because he was just nervous of what would happen if Jin came back again. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Sorry, I ditched you in the middle of a fountain after I kissed you? Or, I am a total loser when it comes to socializing with people so that was probably why things ended so…awkwardly?

Zuko contemplated on not just talking to her but he almost slapped himself after considering that option. He was never one to back down from a challenge and this challenge was probably the most difficult one he had ever encountered. Zuko groaned. Why didn't the Fire Nation include socializing with other people in their curriculum? It never actually occurred to him to learn how to make with other people before since he was the Prince of the Fire Nation. People just naturally wanted to be associated with him. And as for girls….marriages were usually arranged so he didn't really feel the need to worry about that particular area.

As he washed the plates he started to rehearse what he planned to say. Repeating and saying it again and again, always revising it and changing it when he felt that it sounded stupid. Actually, he never managed to complete what he planned to say because everything either sound too dumb or too dorky and he really didn't want the two options.

"The flowers look so pretty!"

Zuko froze as he heard the loud and cheerful voice waft into the air.

"Why, thank you Jin! I was lucky to get it at such a wonderful price," he heard Iroh say happily.

"They make the shop look less dingy," Jin commented. Zuko knew the inevitable was about to happen. Unable to think of anything to say, he panicked and stole out of the teashop through the backdoor, calling at Pao that he was out to buy some oolong for black tea. As the cold wind hit him and rainwater splashed his face he cursed at himself but decided that the fate that sat awaiting him inside was way worse.

Quietly, he ran towards the marketplace as heard his uncle calling out his name.

…

Iroh had decided that Zuko was now completely inept at social affairs. It was very obvious by the fact that the boy had left the tea shop after seeing a trace of Jin. Iroh almost laughed out loud in spite of himself. That boy was not afraid to brave the icy tundra of the North Pole but he could not do something as simple as talk to a girl.

Giggling quietly to himself he went outside to where Jin was calmly sipping her cup of tea.

"I am afraid that my nephew has made an escape," he said nearly choking in laughter.

"Hmmmm…normally I am much more nimble when it comes to trapping boys," Jin said jokingly. Then in a mock worried look she leaned towards Iroh and whispered, "You don't think that….I am losing my touch are you?"

That sent Iroh laughing. Jin snickered quietly.

"Not at all! In fact you are quite talented," Iroh said smiling. Then leaning forward he said conspirationally, "You're the first one to actually come into direct contact with him—aside from his mother and sister."

"Does that mean I'll get a reward? Free tea, perhaps?" Jin asked raising a brow. Iroh had not expected that one. He liked this girl. Aside from being charming and beautiful, she was very humorous and quick-witted as well. He could only guess that the date might have ended in disaster—knowing Zuko. But it was very wonderful to see that Jin was a very good sport about the whole matter.

"Of course. An occasion such as this deserves the best tea available," Iroh said giving a low nod, all while plotting to take the money out from Zuko's pay. He grabbed the pot of green tea and poured it unto a teacup.

"Li is just iffy around girls. He's not a very people person," Iroh said apologetically. He still had high hopes for this particular match. Iroh had never been wrong about couples yet. Okay so maybe Ursa and Ozai probably were not the best of matches but they managed to create two children together before completely falling apart so that had to count for something.

"Oh, I could see that. He seems so grumpy all the time. I think you should suggest some ways for him to vent out all that pent up frustration," Jin said half-teasingly, half-seriously.

"In my opinion he should spend a great deal of time drinking tea to let it all out. But unfortunately tea is not his thing," Iroh said with genuine disappointment. If only Zuko appreciated tea as much as Jin.

"I don't think that I'm his thing either," Jin frowned. And then she asked with true worry coloring her voice, "Do you think he likes me?"

"Of course he does! He won't tell me the full details of what happened during your date but I'm pretty sure he's just very embarrassed about it," Iroh said.

"Oh, well things didn't end exactly well but I had so much fun. Li is a very great person to hang out with so whether he does like me or not, I think he'll be a pretty cool friend!" Jin said.

Iroh's jaw slacked. If Jin thought that Zuko was actually _fun_ to be with then she was too much of an opportunity to let go of. Honestly, ho w many people would think Zuko was fun? Certainly not girls! He was going to have a long talk with his nephew otherwise Zuko might forever become a hermit and a chance to have cute grand-nephews and nieces would be lost.

…

Zuko had just finished buying some oolong leaves. He was soaking wet, mud was caked all over his clothes and tea leaves he bought were not much of any use considering they were flattened and drenched with rainwater. He grumpily paid the saleslady and started the long walk back to the teashop.

He was angry at himself for acting like such a coward and hiding from Jin. He was not usually like that! He should not be like that! He was the Prince of the Fire nation. He should not be afraid of some girl. He had already face way worse things than this.

Suddenly he saw Jin. She looked slightly annoyed with the rain pouring on her head and mud slapping the hem of her dress. She brushed some mud off before making a sharp turn to a dark alleyway. Zuko rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. He usually did that when he was about to go to a battle. Zuko slapped his forehead. Did he just compare talking with a girl with a battle?

He repeated to himself that he could do this. All he had to do was explain to her why he abruptly left last night. He sprinted towards the alleyway praying that Jin hasn't left yet. He wanted this to be over with once and for all.

"It's just like ripping a band-aid," Zuko told himself as he entered the alleyway. Zuko entered the alleyway and frowned. It was dark and very narrow, a haven for shady characters. A nice and defenseless young lady like Jin shouldn't even be in a place like this. Zuko scowled. Why did he even care?

He continued on. A few shady looking people were sitting down on the muddy ground eyeing him. Zuko sent them wary glares. He would have no trouble defending himself (or Jin) if any situation rose up. He continued on the alleyway until he saw her.

He felt a bit confused. Jin was just standing there looking forlornly at her muddied dress. Zuko was about to call her when something happened. The mud started removing themselves from her dress. He stared jaw slacked. What was this? Sorcery? Some sort of earth kingdom magic?

Wait. He was just being plain stupid. This wasn't magic. A million thoughts ran in Zuko's head as he saw Jin's hands move in strong, solid movements.

"You're a bender?" Zuko said before he could stop himself.

Jin froze, the mud she was bending still hanging in midair. Slowly she turned around, her face startled and wide with fear.

But still all Zuko could managed was, "You're a bender?"

…

_I'm not to keen on any Zuko pairings. I'm actually more interested in Sokka/Suki ship but when I saw The Tales of Ba Sing Se they were just too cute! _

_Reviews, please. _


	2. Part II

**Burning Bright**

_Part II_

Zuko could still not form one cohesive train of thought after seeing Jin earthbend. He was not sure why this struck to him as something unusual, unbelievable even. Perhaps it was because when he thought of Jin, always ever so cheerful and happy, he thought of someone so innocent and defenseless. Above them, the gray sky had thinned slightly, although the rain continued to pour down upon them in big, heavy drops. Jin had stood there shell shocked with the mud she was bending still hanging in midair. Then her hands became limp and the mud dropped from the air and splattered unto the wet, sloppy ground. She stared at him for awhile, her once bright and cheerful eyes narrowed. Then in one swift and wordless motion, Jin turned away from him and ran making small wet noises as her feet hit the ground.

Zuko stood there as he watched Jin run away from him, her figure becoming smaller and smaller as she speedily distanced herself from him. He was immediately overcome with a sense of irony. It was now him being left alone in the middle of nowhere.

He could not understand why he was stagnant and why he could not force himself to move. Curiosity was burning inside of him. Zuko realized that he had been standing under the rain for quite awhile and was aware that his only option as of now was to go back to the teashop considering the fact that pursuing Jin for some answers seemed so brash and idiotic on the account that it was such a small matter. It seemed as if Jin didn't want to talk about it and by the expression of her face, it seemed as if Zuko had just discovered some sort of monumental secret though he couldn't understand why that was so.

Zuko sighed and started his long and weary walk back to the teashop. The gray blanket that was enveloping the sky now had a few patches of sunlight and the rain had stopped altogether. Mud was splattered all over his clothes, the rain had left his hair wet, and water had seeped into his shoes, making wet, splashy noises with every step he took. He took the crumpled bag of tea leaves he had bought and saw that they were now completely unusable since the juice was completely drawn out from them because they had been drenched in water for such a long time.

He arrived at the shop where Pao was impatiently waiting for him. He yelled at Zuko for twenty minutes before allowing him to go to the back to clean up. Zuko did not bother to wipe the mud which was encrusted in his shoes away. Instead, he stormed to the back leaving a trail of muddied footprints behind him. Pao could only groan in protest.

When Zuko entered the backroom, Iroh was already there brewing some tea. Noticing the foul way Zuko entered, Iroh lightly commented, "The Great Tea Server of Ba Sing Se has returned! It was rather rude of you to not entertain Jin. She very much wanted to see you…."

Zuko didn't answer him. Instead he stomped his way to the tea jars and slammed the oolong tea leaves he bought into them. Then he silently padded his way to the corner where he proceeded to scrape the mud of his clothes.

Iroh knew that Jin and the Date seemed to be an extremely touchy subject for Zuko but he couldn't help poking a bit of fun. "You know Prince Zuko, she was very taken with you. She seemed to so pleased with your date—''

"Uncle, what do you know about earthbenders?" Zuko asked suddenly, interrupting Iroh's rant. He had spent the last few seconds pondering on why Jin left so hastily—and without saying something to him too. Why did it seem like such a big deal that he found out that she was able to bend? Jin was acting as if she had committed some crime and now some police officer had busted her. Apparently she did not want Zuko to find out that she was a bender for some unknown reason.

"Well….from my experience….Earthbenders are extremely patient. They observe something called neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike, and when that moment comes, acting decisively. Earthbenders often endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself, and then they strike with unyielding force. Earthbending comes in varied—''

"No…..Earthbenders!" Zuko repeated, as he flicked some mud off his cuffs.

"What?"

"I want to know about Earthbenders uncle! Specifically, about Earthbenders here in _Ba Sing Se_!" Zuko hissed.

Suddenly Pao burst in into the backroom, his face outlined with annoyance and a rug riddled with mud clamped in his hand. Zuko froze in place while Iroh continued to brew, whistling nonchalantly as he checked the teapot.

"I've had enough of your nephew's nonsense! He's been out for an hour doing Spirits-knows-what, he comes back sopping wet and then he trails mud all over my tea shop floor!" Pao ranted hysterically. Then, he strode towards Iroh and said in a frenzied voice, "I suggest you keep your nephew under control! For all I know he could be wasting precious time with his _girlfriend_ instead of working!"

Before Zuko could snap into another outburst, Iroh exhaled deeply and sighed, "If only. If only. You have no idea how much I wish for that to happen…."

"Just get back to work!" Pao screamed before leaving the backroom, flinging the muddied rug into the floor before he exited.

Zuko counted to three before he repeated his question. Iroh looked at Zuko incredulously before returning his attention to the teapot. He pursed his lips and stared at the smoke curling from the teapot's mouth with great concentration.

"I am sorry Prince Zuko but I have no idea what you are talking about," Iroh finally said after moments of silence. Annoyed, Zuko angrily scowled before proceeding to the bucket of water stationed near the sink. He cupped a handful of water and poured it on the hem of his pants in an irritated fashion. He had thought that Iroh would at least take the question seriously.

Iroh's eyes momentarily flicked in Zuko's direction. He lowered the heat with a fan. He yearned to simply firebend so that the work process would be done at a much faster pace but the risk was too high. Pao had a habit of popping in and out of the backroom at unexpected times. Once, Iroh had instructed Zuko to light a fire _using a match. _Zuko, being extremely stubborn, used firebending instead. At that untimely moment, Pao came bursting in, yammering about increased taxes and lousy tips. Luckily, Iroh's round and big body was more than enough to cover the sight of Zuko firebending.

"Why the sudden interest in earthbenders?" Iroh asked after awhile. The tea leaves in the teapot had blackened and he knew that it was would soon have the right flavor and he would have to put the fire out completely. Iroh inhaled the scent deeply. The key to making great tea was the smell.

Zuko briefly considered telling Iroh about the incident in the alleyway but then he quickly decided against it. He wasn't sure if he wanted his uncle to know considering the harried and frantic way Jin left. As of now, he felt as if Jin's earthbending abilities were an unsaid secret between her and himself. If he was going to figure things out, he'll do it by himself.

"So….Jin was here," Zuko ventured cautiously knowing full well how Iroh would react. He really wanted another chance to meet her so he could ask her the questions plaguing his mind.

Iroh smiled when he heard that question. It seemed as if Zuko was warming up to the idea of dating Jin or at least the possibility of making a life here in Ba Sing Se. He answered in a happier tone, "Yes. She wanted to speak with you regarding the details of your date last night—''

Zuko huffed loudly.

"But it seems that you are much more interested in running around the mud with rain on your head than talking with a nice and _extremely attractive_ young lady. She was disappointed that you weren't here and having nothing left to do, she left," Iroh continued with a tone of disappointment. He lifted the cover of the teapot and smelled the scent that was wafting about the room. It was strong yet pleasing. Satisfied, he took the pot from the stove and set it on the table next to him. Then, he put the fire out altogether with a stone cap.

"So….um…..do you think she'll come back again?" Zuko asked hesitantly. He knew how Iroh would react. As expected, Iroh turned around his face etched with a mixture of happiness and shock. Then, to Zuko's horror Iroh started winking at him.

Zuko groaned and glared at Iroh before storming out of the backroom muttering under his breath.

* * *

The next morning, Zuko was shocked to find Jin sitting in her usual table, a calm expression on her face. He half-expected her to not return but he also knew that she would come back no matter how confusing things became yesterday. She was from the Earth Kingdom and those of Earth Kingdom blood are known to be annoyingly persistent and steadfast.

"Zuko! Your lady friend has come back and she wants green tea!" Iroh whispered excitedly, making Zuko flinch. He was looking through the peephole in the backroom door.

"I need to go buy more oolong!"

"You're always buying oolong! Do you want to turn into one?" Iroh demanded as he poured some green tea into a cup.

Zuko panicked. Although he did want to talk to her because he wanted an explanation for the peculiar way she left yesterday, he was still afraid with how the conversation might turn out. Surely Jin had not forgotten about their disastrous date. She had probably come here to mock him for being such a horrible date. Or perhaps she was so incensed by his idiotic behavior that she planned to spite him and she will start yelling at him and maybe she'll slap him too. Zuko was so busy thinking about these that he did not notice that Iroh had pushed him outside with a teacup in his hands.

Zuko glared at his uncle, before taking a deep breath. Grasping the cup in his hands he slowly walked towards the table where Jin sat.

"Hi Li. Thank you for the tea," Jin said cheerfully. Zuko quickly placed the cup on her table and said, "Hi."

Zuko expected Jin to get defensive. He expected her to start sputtering excuses about why she left so quickly in the alleyway. He _did not _expect her to be sipping tea so calmly.

"I'm taking a break…..my uncle told me you wanted to say something," Zuko said lamely, scratching his head.

"Are you sure Li? It seems your boss isn't looking too happy," Jin said, eyeing Pao who was now glaring at Zuko murderously.

"He always looks like that," Zuko retorted.

"Oh…he always looks like a man who has dung shoved under his nose?"

Thinking of no other answer, Zuko said, "Yes."

"Okay, that's weird," Jin said frowning. Then in a lighter voice she said, "I hear your uncle has created a new blend. How does it taste like?"

"I don't know. Wait—what I mean to say is that I don't really care. Rather, I'm not really interested. I hate tea," Zuko said flatly. He was very impatient. He wanted this conversation to go to the direction he wanted.

"That's too bad. You know, Li you should start appreciating tea more often. It helps calm the nerves. If you took more time in valuing the simple things in life you probably would not be as cranky," Jin said teasingly.

"I'm not cranky!"

"Of, course not," Jin said in a mock serious voice.

Zuko huffed. Then in a more cautious voice he said, "So…..about yesterday…."

"Of course. I never had the chance to apologize for leaving so rudely yesterday," Jin began seriously. She still looked the picture of serenity while Zuko was now becoming more and more riled up.

"You didn't tell me you were a bender!" Zuko blurted out. Jin eyes widened in shock and she stared at him with a blank look on her face. Zuko smiled satisfied although he couldn't understand why. He had finally gotten to point of the conversation he wanted.

Jin however quickly smoothed the expression on her face.

"You don't know what you saw," Jin murmured cautiously. She subconsciously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Zuko narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He knew what he saw. The memory was still fresh in his mind. He could still recall the strong and steady way Jin moved her hands as she earthbended the mud from her clothes.

"You don't know what you saw Li. The rain was pouring down much too heavily so it may have fogged your eyesight," Jin said carefully after realizing that Zuko had not spoken at all. Zuko looked up startled and inched his face towards her. Jin looked light and cheerful once again. "Maybe you should stop working. Rest a little, maybe," Jin said in her usual bright and happy voice although Zuko detected that it was edged with something else. Fear? Anxiety? Worry?

Zuko realized that she was trying to act as if the whole thing had not happened. That perhaps it was momentary lapse in Zuko's judgment. Zuko however refused to give up so easily. "I know what I saw," Zuko said shaking his head stubbornly. Then in a louder voice he said, "You didn't tell me you are a bender."

"I'm not. You're getting confused. Maybe you should drink some more tea," Jin said persistently.

"I don't need tea!" Zuko yelled. Then, in one angry huff, he left, irritated that he still had not gotten any answers.

* * *

Perhaps he shouldn't have left in such a distasteful and abrupt manner. He would never get answers that way. Zuko decided to change his whole strategy about the whole matter. He rolled his shoulders and spied on Jin as she sat in her table, sipping her tea. That girl was extremely strange! She had ways of getting under his skin. Zuko expected her to not return after her secret had just almost been revealed.

And yes Zuko was sure that Jin was keeping her earthbending a secret. No amount of pretending would erase that.

He confidently strode towards her table and said, "Hi."

"Hello, Li. Did you rest like I suggested?"

"Nothing's wrong with me!"

"Well...your getting all ruffled up over nothing," Jin stated.

"That's because you're trying to confuse me and act like it did not happen!" Zuko yelled.

"What did not happen?' Jin asked.

"You, earthbending!" Zuko roared.

"Shush. Don't go saying stupid things," Jin snapped, her face melding into anger for the first time. Her eyes darted edgily from place to place.

"Li!" Pao roared from the din of the noise.

"What?" Zuko snapped.

"Get back to work and stop spending time with your girlfriend!" Pao ordered.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko growled. Then realizing that Jin was next to him, Zuko flushed, mightily embarrassed.

"I'm just his friend actually," Jin said good-naturedly.

* * *

This was the third time Jin went to their teashop after the incident in the alleyway and Zuko hadn't been too successful with their conversations. Iroh seemed to take note of this and decided that it was his duty to help Zuko.

"Nephew, it would be wise of you to not storm out every time the conversation ends badly," Iroh advised.

"I don't need your advise!" Zuko said before walking towards Jin's table. Jin was drinking the new blend his uncle made. To Zuko, it all tasted the same but apparently Jin thought otherwise.

"This tea is the best one I had ever had! It's the right balance between bitterness and sweetness!" Jin exclaimed.

"He made it out of Moon Flowers," Zuko said. That was very clever of him. Continuing the topic with something he already knew. His uncle taught him that.

"Is it from the…..is it from the ones he had put up four days ago?" Jin asked in horror.

"Well….yeah," Zuko said. Stupid! Stupid! Zuko mentally cursed himself. That did not sound right.

"No wonder I could feel the taste of decay!" Jin said although she didn't look as horrified.

Zuko grunted. Whatever. This was not the reason why he had come to talk to her. He did not come here to make friends or_ girlfriends_ or talk about tea for that matter.

"So you're a bender?" Zuko repeated the question with much force this time.

Jin averted her gaze.

Zuko continued to ask more questions, his voice rising octaves higher with each passing question until finally Jin grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her. His face was only a few inches away from her and he could make out every detail from her bangs to the thick lashes clinging unto the lids of her eyes. Zuko was quite shocked to see Jin's happy and bright face meld into one of seriousness and solemnity so quickly.

"Not so loud! Not here where unwanted ears can hear us!" she hissed. Zuko looked around. All he saw was a family, two farmers and an old lady, all of them drinking their tea. Hardly anyone suspicious.

"So you're an earthbender?" Zuko said insistently.

"Maybe," Jin said. Her voice was teasing and light. Zuko expected her to be defensive but again she surprised him by making very light of the situation.

"Why won't you give me a straight answer?" Zuko hissed losing his patience.

"I thought you were positively sure that you saw me bend," Jin said slyly. Zuko growled in annoyance before curtly saying that he needed to get back to work.

* * *

It dawned on Zuko the next day that maybe Jin's last answer was her way of saying yes without out rightly saying it. Apparently she was cautious because of something but he still could not get the answers he wanted. He went to her again hoping she would answer his question but always she averted it by starting some other topic. And like the dunderhead he was, he would completely forget about what they were talking about because he would get too caught up in the conversation. He would never admit it to himself but he actually liked talking with Jin. She was such an interesting person to talk with.

By the eight day that she had come back Zuko had repeated the mantra of concentrating about a hundred times to himself. His uncle seemed greatly amused, thinking that it was about Jin. Zuko frowned. His uncle did not know anything. This was nothing about Jin! Okay, so perhaps it was mostly about Jin but he was only talking to her to find out the ever elusive secret of being a bender in Ba sing Se.

Then suddenly it dawned on him.

Why should he bother wasting time with Jin who was not giving him any answers when he could just ask Pao who would probably be very frank about the whole matter?

Zuko approached Pao who was none too happy to see him not working.

"Pao? I need to ask you a question," Zuko said.

"If this is about the amount of money I'm taking out of your pay then the answer is no! I would not reconsider!" Pao said.

"You took money out of my pay!" Zuko said angrily.

"What do you expect? You spent a lot of time that could be used for working with your _girlfriend_!" Pao hissed.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko roared. Why did everyone think Jin was his girlfriend? Why was everyone being so pushy with this?

"Sure she isn't," Pao said disbelievingly.

"Look….can you please just answer my question?" Zuko said rubbing his temples, trying vainly to keep his temper in check.

"What?"

"What do you know about earthbenders?"

"I don't care about earthbenders and their weird magic," Pao sniffed.

"I'm talking about earthbenders _here in Ba Sing Se_," Zuko continued impatiently.

At this Pao immediately stiffened. He slowly turned around, grabbed Zuko by the collar and said in a dark voice, "Unless don't want to cross the Dai Li's path then don't ever associate with them."

Zuko stared at Pao, too shocked to move.

"And if you do know someone who bends…..report it to the Dai Li immediately," Pao said gravely. Then he let Zuko go and started blabbering about more schemes to attract customers. Zuko scowled and grabbed Pao's sleeved.

"Why should I report them to the Dai Li?"

Pao sighed heavily as if it was a really great burden to him to take time to explain this to Zuko. Exasperated he asked, "Did you not realize that you have not seen anyone bend but the Erath Kingdom Guards and the Dai Li?"

Zuko pondered on this. Now that he thought about it, he really did not see anyone aside from the Earth Kingdom Guards and the Dai Li earthbend. At first, he did not really pay much attention to the city because he despised living here. However, he realized that he would be here much longer than he really wanted. He realized that something more sinister was going on in the walls of this seemingly peaceful city.

"Years ago, the Earth King issued a decree that henceforth, all people who possess the ability to bend must register themselves to the Dai Li whereupon they will be taken under training. Of course, as usual, people are being stubborn and suspicious about it so we got a few rogues and unregistered benders running loose in the city. The Dai Li wishes for everyone's cooperation in this matter so I suggest if you know _any _information about a bender, report it immediately," Pao said significantly.

"Why do they need benders to be registered?"

Pao leaned forward and said in low voice, "They say that it is to crush any chances of an uprising."

Then with a wave of his hand, Pao dismissed Zuko.

Zuko stiffened at the sound of "Dai Li". He now understood why Jin was so mysterious about the whole thing. Truth to be told, he did not like them, their methods and how they handled their affairs. They handled their affairs with such a silence and quickness that their enemies would no longer have time to think before realizing that they had come to their doom. He did not like to wake up one morning only to discover that Jin had now joined among those ranked "missing".

Zuko mentally slapped himself. Why did he even care? Was he growing attached to something in this stupid city? Was he making friends? Zuko shuddered. He did not want that to happen. He wanted to leave Ba Sing Se. However, he was so happy with at last unmasking Jin's odd behavior about the whole earthbending matter that he soon forgot about his previous worries and he started focusing on talking with Jin about it.

"Hi."

"Hi, Li. Still babbling cockamamie nonsense about earthbenders?" Jin asked.

Zuko scowled and said, "I know about earthbenders."

"Everyone knows about earthbenders," Jin told him. She was sipping another one of her uncle's experiments. Zuko noted that it was only her that was brave enough to try concoctions such as Wasp Hopper's Essence or Carrot Tea.

"I know what the Dai Li does to them," Zuko said frankly. He wanted to stop this verbal tango and get straight to the point. Jin sighed and glared at him.

"Is this a threat?"

"What?" Now Zuko was absolutely confused. As expected, he had no idea where the conversation was heading.

"The Dai Li pays a hefty sum to those who turn unregistered Earthbenders in," Jin said.

Zuko was so flabbergasted by her response that he could do nothing but stare at her for awhile. She looked worried but at the same time she was giving off an aura of apathy. It was as if she didn't care if Zuko would turn her in or not.

"What makes you think that I'll turn you in?"

Jin shrugged and said, "Lots of people from the Lower Ring would do anything for money. I just don't see you as an exception."

At this, Zuko's temper flared. He hated being referred to as a peasant.

"That's stupid. I have more concerns than money," Zuko declared.

Jin looked at him skeptically.

"Besides I just wouldn't do that to you. You're my…..you're my….friend," Zuko said. He didn't like it all. He didn't like that he was making friends here in Ba Sing Se. He didn't like that he was actually considering a possibility of having a life here.

"Awww…..really?"

"Yes," Zuko said exasperated.

"I was under the impression that you didn't want any friends," Jin said.

"That's not true!" Zuko argued weakly.

"Well….your just so….uptight…," Jin commented.

"Stop acting as if you're my psychiatrist!"

"You have one?" Jin exclaimed.

"No!"

"Li!" Zuko turned and saw that Pao was stomping over towards them, an angry expression on his face. He stopped a few inches from them and said in an angry voice, "I demand that you do the work you are paid to do and stop wasting time!"

Then he turned to look at Jin and said, "And stop distracting him! If the only purpose you have coming here is to hinder my employee from working then I suggest you not come back here at all!"

Zuko growled at Pao and said, "Don't drag her into this! This isn't her fault!"

Jin however hastily stood up and said in a harried tone, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I'll leave….now."

And with that she left leaving Zuko alone with Pao. Pao stared at Zuko stonily before sending him back to work.

* * *

Iroh was extremely delighted to hear that Zuko had been reprimanded for taking too much time talking with Jin. He completely ignored Zuko's rants and complaints about Pao. He was glad that Zuko was finally doing something normal teenagers did.

The next day, Jin still showed up much to Pao annoyance and to Zuko's surprise she was bringing some sort of weapon with her. She brought two golden, three tipped metal prongs and she was swinging them up and down. Pao seemed too afraid to approach her because the prongs looked so sharp so he just stood in the corner glaring at Zuko as he approached Jin.

Pao thought that it would be best if he brought Jin "apology tea" for his rude behavior yesterday. Even though Pao hated it when Zuko would stop working to talk with Jin she was still his most valuable customer.

"Here. As a gesture of apology from Pao's Family Teashop," Zuko said flatly handing her the tea.

"I thought so. I'm your best customer," Jin said matter-of-factly as sipped the tea.

"What are those?" Zuko asked gesturing the prongs.

"They're double hand-held tridents. I just finished forging them today," Jin said excitedly. She handed him the weapons for him to examine.

Zuko's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean you forged them today?"

"Don't tell me you don't know about weapons forging?' Jin demanded.

"I know how weapons are forged!"

"Then why are you so shocked?"

"Because…..because….you're a girl!" Zuko sputtered. Then after seeing the expression of Jin's face he immediately regretted it. He quickly tried to cover up his blunder.

"Not that there is anything wrong with girls. It's just that…..girls aren't supposed to be interested in stuff like these!" Zuko said quickly.

"I'm a girl and I bend. Apparently in the Earth Kingdom, girls aren't supposed to be interested in stuff like bending either," Jin said with a hint of bitterness. Zuko just stared at her and since he was so uncomfortable he started twiddling his thumbs.

"That's okay. I'm used to people being so sexist that way," Jin shrugged dismissively.

Zuko took great offense in that. He wasn't sexist. In fact in the Fire nation both women and men were equal and they all had equal opportunities in education, rank and military exploits. It's just that Jin wasn't the kind of girl he expected to go forging weapons.

"I'm not sexist!"

Jin stared blankly at him. Zuko realized that he had just made another unnecessary outburst.

"It's just that….you don't seem like the kind of girl to be into this stuff," Zuko explained awkwardly.

"You're not first one to tell me that," Jin laughed. This made Zuko only more embarrassed. This was the first thing his teacher taught him. Never underestimate anyone or their capabilities.

"So you work in a forge?"

"Nope. I actually sell flowers. I'm not really good at cooking and sewing so it's difficult for me to get regular jobs. Here in the Earth Kingdom, if you're a girl then those are the only kind of jobs people expect you to get or be good at," Jin said. She looked slightly annoyed at this.

"So how did you forge this?" Zuko asked genuinely curious.

"My neighbor is really nice. He knows I'm really interested in weaponry and that I like to collect weapons so he lets me use it on slow days," Jin said.

"So you know how to use weapons?"

"Of course! It's much more interesting than cooking and sewing! I have a big collection at home. You can look at it if you want to some time," Jin invited.

Zuko stared at tridents. They were perfectly made and they gleamed with sheen. He decided that Jin was not fulfilling _any _of his first impressions of her.

"So do you know how to use these?"

"No. I just became interested recently after reading a book that said it was once a popular weapon during the period of Avatar Yangchen."

"I'm like that. Once I get interested in something, I get right to it," Jin added. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I never knew," Zuko said loudly though he said it mostly to himself.

"You never asked during our date," Jin retorted.

Zuko muttered something about Pao calling him after hearing about a topic he did not particularly like.

* * *

The next day Jin had decided that it was Zuko's turn to tell her things about himself.

"It's not fair. We spent yesterday talking about me," Jin whined.

"I'm not that interesting of a person," Zuko said.

"So what? You're being such a loser. You already know a secret about me. You should tell me a secret too so I know that you won't turn me into the Dai Li one day."

"I won't turn you into the Dai Li!"

Then after a few minutes he added, "And I don't have any secrets."

"Everyone has secrets."

"Everyone but me."

Jin sat back, folded her arms and said, "Well unless you tell me _something _about yourself then I will have to bury you ten feet underground because I don't trust you!"

"You don't trust me?"

"How do I know you won't turn me into the Dai Li?"

"Because I'm not that kind of person!"

"Just tell me one thing about you," Jin insisted.

"Fine! I can play the Tsungi Horn," Zuko said in defeat.

Jin stared at him for awhile. She opened her mouth then closed it.

"What?"

"What?"

"You were about to say something."

"I don't mean to offend you but I hate the Tsungi Horn. It's a dumb instrument," Jin said her face looking slightly apologetic.

Zuko found himself laughing after awhile.

"That's okay. Don't ever tell my uncle but I hate it too."

Jin smiled.

Zuko realized that he had a lot more in common with her than he first thought.

* * *

"I think we should talk about our date," Jin told him suddenly. They were in the middle of a conversation about swords when Jin suddenly jumped that comment on him. Zuko looked startled. He did not want to talk about this. He started muttering tea when Jin glared at him and said, "Not so fast."

"What?"

"You can't keep avoiding this. I've been meaning to talk to you about this days ago," Jin frowned.

"I wanted to talk to you about your bending abilities for days but you wouldn't talk about it," Zuko said.

"That was different. It was a matter of life and death. _This _is a matter of your cowardice," Jin pointed out.

"I'm not a coward!"

"Then let's talk about it."

"Fine!"

"I want us to be friends," Jin said simply. Zuko just stared at her, unable to think of anything to say back to her.

"I know our date didn't end in the best way possible. I can see that you aren't interested. I know we've started hanging out as friends but I can still see that there is some awkwardness in the air. I just wanted to get rid of them," Jin explained.

"I'm sorry about our date," Zuko blurted out interrupting whatever Jin was about to say next.

"I actually liked you as my date but...that doesn't mean...wait!….er…..um….I like you as a friend more….and….what I mean to say is that I just sort of panicked because I'm not used to stuff like that," Zuko said, his words stumbling into each other.

Jin held her hand up and she started giggling.

"I can see that," Jin said disarmingly.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't know how to talk to people," Zuko added quickly.

"Of course not!" Jin said although she sounded as if she didn't believe him.

Then she held her hands out and said, "Friends?"

Zuko grabbed it and said, "Friends."

And for the first time, he actually liked the idea of having friends in Ba Sing Se.

* * *

_I know some people will be expecting them to be dating right away but I felt that they should be friends first. One of things I did comment on that episode was that things went too fast—for someone like Zuko anyway._

_So whenever I think of Jin I think of someone:_

_a.) Carefree_

_b. )Good-Natured_

_c.) Badass (who wouldn't be a badass when you've just asked Zuko out on a date__)_

_d.) Fun-Loving_

_And I definitely don't think of her as a regular girly girl!_

_The plotline about Earthbenders having to be registered doesn't strike to me as far-fetched. The only time I've seen anyone bend other than the Dai Li and the Earth kingdom Guards in Ba Sing Se were those kids in the Tale of Iroh (made me cry by the way). Sexism in the Earth kingdom seems like a possibility to me either. I've never seen a female authority in the Earth Kingdom or in the Water Tribe and the only major female benders I've seen in both countries are Katara and Toph.  
_

_Thanks to pretzelboy, GraysonPaladin and SkorpionQueen012 for being the first to review!_

_Keep the reviews coming!_


	3. Part III

**Burning Bright**

_Part III_

Zuko realized, as he lay awake in his cot, that he did not have many friends. In fact, as far as he could recall he did not have _any_ friends. That thought, while odd and somewhat disturbing, did not struck him as something that he should be worried about. Perhaps, it was because he was so focused with capturing the Avatar and regaining his honor that he had decided that having friends was not a priority in his life as of now. However, as he continued to further examine this particular area, he realized that his hopes of returning to the Fire Nation were now next-to-impossible. He rolled over to the left. He hated to admit it. He wasn't going home soon. In fact, there might even be a chance that he won't return home at all. Zuko groaned but then he gritted his teeth.

He sat up and stared at the dark, wooden wall, his eyes burning with passion. He would never give it up. He would never give up the hope of returning to his homeland. He clutched his blankets tightly. Home seemed so far away. But he knew that someday he will be back there and his father will see him for the son he truly is. For the _honorable _man that he truly is. He will find a way somehow.

But for now, Zuko decided that it wouldn't hurt to have a friend for awhile. He certainly was going to be stuck in Ba Sing Se for some time—and with only his uncle for company too. He grimaced at that thought. While his uncle was a patient and understanding companion, he always managed to irritate Zuko with his never ending obsession of tea, music and Pai Sho. He had never experienced being with people his own age who did not try to kill him and although he was still reluctant to the idea, he actually liked spending time with Jin.

He lay down on his cot again.

Yes, perhaps he would take a break from all the Avatar-plotting for awhile and actually start doing things people his own age usually do.

* * *

The day had dragged on slower than usual since there were not many customers and Jin had not yet arrived. Pao was being more difficult than usual since he had become extra cranky with the lack of customers. Iroh had to restrain Zuko several times from banging Pao's head with a teapot. Zuko tried to be discreet about it but Iroh always managed to catch him glancing at the door and he could not help making one comment about it.

"Looking for your lady friend Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked teasingly once Pao had gone outside in the hopes of attracting more customers.

"Don't call me that! My name is not Zuko!" Zuko hissed. Then in a pained voice he uttered, "It's Li."

Pao came back in looking angry and irritable. He barked at Zuko and Iroh to stop wasting time and to get back to work. Zuko could barely restrain himself from snapping back at Pao that there was no work to be done since there _were no customers._ Iroh however, always good-natured, nodded nonchalantly at Pao and retreated to the backroom where he started singing another folk song in a loud voice. Zuko scowled and to amuse himself he started wiping the tables, his hand moving in mechanical and circular motions.

However, later in the morning more customers slowly started trickling in. Pao started telling Zuko and Iroh in a loud voice that it was all because of his superior marketing skills. Zuko could only scowl in return.

At about half past two, after Zuko and Iroh ate their meager lunch of rice porridge, Jin finally arrived, looking tired and flustered. Tucked underneath her right arm was bouquet of assorted flowers, their brilliant hues reflecting brightly against the dull and dreary teashop. Zuko immediately perked up and dropped the rag he was holding. Finally, something interesting.

He wanted to take his mind off the thoughts he had been thinking while he was wiping the tables. He was thinking about home again, about his former life and mostly about his father. He didn't really want to think about them because they were too depressing but sometimes he can't help it. His desire to return home and to regain his honor often overwhelmed his senses, even when he wasn't out rightly thinking about them.

Jin sat down in her usual table and cheerfully waved to Zuko who approached her. He raised his brows at the sight of the flowers. They all looked beautiful, but he noticed that some of them had turned brown at the edges and others looked droopy and wilted.

"Hi, Li," Jin said. She still sounded like her usual cheerful self but Zuko noted that her voice was tinged with weariness.

"You look tired. Where have you been all day?" Zuko asked.

Jin ignored him and instead she said, "I think I want some tea."

Zuko nodded quickly and said, "Of course. What do you want?"

Jin silently mulled this over for a moment before suddenly waving at someone. Zuko turned and saw that she was waving at Iroh.

"I think your uncle created a new blend," Jin said as she waved at Iroh.

"You wouldn't like it. Three people vomited today," Zuko informed her flatly.

"You told me the same thing when I ordered his new Horseradish tea but I actually liked it," Jin said, chuckling a little. Zuko sighed and went to his uncle at the counter. Iroh looked pleased that Jin was interested in his new blend—in his opinion it was a delightful mix of spinach and the roots of a Straw Flower. Three of his customers however, did not seem to agree.

"She has brilliant taste in tea!" Iroh commented as he poured the tea into the cup.

"No," Zuko said as he took the cup. Before turning to leave he said, "She's the only one nice enough to actually tolerate your experiments."

Iroh frowned for a moment before firmly grabbing Zuko's shoulder. Zuko turned a fraction of an inch towards Iroh.

"What?"

"I want to take the tea to her," Iroh said grabbing the teacup from Zuko's hands.

"_What!"_

"Oh, I'm sure Jin wouldn't mind," Iroh said easily as he strode towards Jin.

"Why would you want to bring the tea to her? Shouldn't you be making more tea for the customers or something?" Zuko rambled as he trailed after Iroh.

"Don't sound so panicked nephew. If you are being suspicious of my motives then there is absolutely no need to worry about anything," Iroh said as they neared her table. He gave a hearty laugh before adding, "She is much too young for me!"

Zuko's ears became a shade of violent red as he realized what Iroh meant by that comment. Zuko hissed, "Uncle!"

"Relax Zuko! I just want to thank her for being such a wonderful customer," Iroh huffed.

Zuko growled before hissing, "Not so loud! And I told you that it's Li!"

Iroh however ignored him and faced Jin, smiling brightly as he said, "Hello Jin! Your face is as lovely as those flowers you brought!"

Zuko exhaled loudly. As usual, his uncle refused to miss out on a chance to compliment a girl. Usually, whenever Iroh tried to act charming to women younger than him, they would get disgusted and would immediately proceed to turn their noses up in the air in pure repugnance or they would wrinkle their noses in distaste all while trying to keep a polite façade. Jin however surprised him yet again by sporting a completely different reaction. She merely laughed jovially and she lightly slapped Iroh in the arm.

"A girl like me can only take so many compliments from such a gifted tea maker," she said as she took the cup of tea from Iroh's hands.

"And old man like me can only take so many compliments from such a vibrant young lady!" Iroh chuckled. Jin took a small sip from the teacup and looked up at Iroh. She bit her lower lip and she looked as if she was judging the tea seriously. Then in a half-serious tone she said, "Mushi...I have taken a great deal of time to examine this tea and I would like to tell you that it tastes…."

Iroh looked at Jin with a look of mock excitement. Zuko, as usual, simply sulked in the background.

"Brilliant! Just brilliant! It's like someone's dancing on my mouth," Jin said making vivid gestures with her hands. Iroh looked more and more amused.

"You have impeccable taste, my dear," Iroh said bowing his head slightly.

"Thank you!" Jin said. She drank a few more sips before asking, "So what is this wonderful little concoction made out of?"

Iroh proudly puffed his chest out and said, "Spinach and the roots of a Straw Flower."

"Straw Flowers!" Zuko said loudly. He looked at Iroh and said, "No wonder people puked!"

"Hmmm…..yes, I will admit that…..some people have blatantly expressed their negative reactions towards my new blend but….you will find that my creations are an….acquired taste," Iroh said, looking slightly ashamed.

"And perhaps your blends need an iron stomach too," Jin said good-naturedly patting her belly. Iroh threw his head back and laugh. That girl never ceases to amaze him with her sharp wit and humor.

"So what are these flowers doing here? A slow day?" Iroh asked as he fingered a bloom.

Jin sighed loudly before saying, "Unfortunately, yes."

She then gathered up the bundle and thrust them towards Iroh, "That's why I stopped by actually. They're no good once its past midday. They become wilted and dry."

Iroh held the bouquet in his hands and smiled, "You are much too kind."

"It's no big deal," Jin shrugged.

"Maybe you could create a new blend from them," Jin suggested. Iroh gave her a big smile.

"I would very much like to return the favor. How would you like to come to our house for dinner?" Iroh asked. From behind him, Zuko stiffened and immediately shot Iroh a murderous glare. Zuko started tugging at Iroh's sleeve and he tried to be subtle in his protests but Iroh was determinedly ignoring him.

"Oh…..that's really not necessary," Jin said with a wave of her hand.

"Of course it's necessary! You have no idea how much of a wonderful presence you are! Why, you're our best customer and you never seem to run out of compliments for my tea!" Iroh exclaimed.

Jin chuckled and wagged her pointer finger while saying, "I'm afraid that flattery will get you nowhere."

Iroh shrugged, "An old man can try."

Zuko did not like where this conversation was going. To invite her to their house basically means bringing her to a place where all their secrets were just laid out for all to see. He had very few possessions he acquired from the Fire Nation but there were some. His uncle salvaged some family pictures blatantly displaying their Fire Nation heritage. Zuko himself had kept a small Fire nation flag. And all those were strewn all over the floor. And furthermore, how did his uncle plan to "cook" dinner for them? He couldn't even cook dinner for themselves!

"I'm just kidding! I guess I could go," Jin smiled.

"Wonderful! Just come back here by sundown and I and my nephew will gladly escort you to our humble household!" Iroh instructed as he took one petal and smelled it. He left muttering under his breath, "Now with the juice of the oolong….this could work…."

Zuko silently sprinted over to his uncle, tugging at his sleeve while he was at it. In an annoyed whisper he said, "Uncle! What are you doing! She'll see all of our stuff!"

"Do not worry. I'll do everything! Just find a way to distract her until I'm ready," Iroh said. Zuko growled and let his uncle go, striding back towards Jin's table. Jin had a look of amusement on her face.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" Jin playfully asked as Zuko took a seat across her.

"Yeah….why would you say that?" Zuko said as he started to panic once again. What did she mean by that? Did that mean that she was growing suspicious?

"Because you just look so grumpy that I'm coming! Did I do something to make you mad?"

"No!" Zuko sputtered. Then he added, "That's just me anyway. I always seem mad."

Jin smirked and said sarcastically, "Really? I wasn't aware of that."

Zuko glowered and said, "Ugh! Whatever! Anyway you shouldn't have given him more ideas to poison our customers."

"Don't be ridiculous! Your uncle is a brilliant tea maker. His concoctions are just not….pleasing to….um…. _everyone_," Jin weakly argued.

Zuko rolled his eyes and scoffed, "You're just saying that because he always gives you free tea."

"You should do something to get rid of all your pent-up frustration."

"I'm not frustrated!"

"Perhaps you should drink some more of your uncle's tea. It's very calming."

Zuko scowled and said crossly, "What's with all you people and tea! It's like no one here in Ba Sing Se talks of anything but _tea_!"

Jin folded her arms and sniffed, "Well I'm sorry that having no hobby or interest at all has made you bitter and jealous."

"I have hobbies!" Zuko argued.

Jin looked as if she didn't believe him.

"This is coming from the boy who said he likes to do nothing for fun."

Zuko's temper flared and he spat, "I don't expect someone as uncultured as you to appreciate any of my interests."

Jin's brows raised and she said, "Excuse me? Uncultured?"

Zuko immediately realized his blunder and he quickly tried to smooth it over. In a panicked tone he said, "It's just that…..um…..I didn't mean that you're uncultured…..I meant….."

He took a deep breath and said in a steady tone, "What I meant to say is that I just don't think you'd find my hobbies interesting."

Jin sat back in her chair and looked at Zuko in the eye, "Try me."

"Well…" Zuko racked his brain for anything to tell her without provoking her mocks. He tried to think of things people his own age would consider a fun hobby but his mind drew blank. He just didn't have that much experience with teenagers who did not want to kill him. He could tell her that he liked to practice and hone his Firebending abilities or plot new ways to capture the Avatar but Jin did not really know that aspect of his life.

Jin pursed his lips, her expression clearly saying that she was waiting.

"I…um…..I really like to study History and Literature," Zuko said. That was true. As a child he always had a keen interest in History and Literature. They were two of the few subjects wherein he actually excelled more than Azula.

Jin's eyes fell downward and the last few minutes were enveloped in silence. Zuko felt extremely uncomfortable. Finally Jin said in a voice ridden with emotion that he could not identify, "I'm not too keen on History."

Zuko gave a surprised look and he could not help asking, "Why not?"

Jin avoided his eyes and Zuko noticed that it was something which she seemed extremely uncomfortable with.

"I just don't like Earth kingdom history all that much," she said flatly.

"Why not?"

Jin started squirming in her seat. She seemed in a hurry to dismiss the topic.

"But I really love Literature though!" Jin said. She looked more enthusiastic. Zuko shrugged. He guessed that not everyone can appreciate History as much as him.

"Whose works are you most familiar with?" Zuko asked eagerly. He was glad that they were finally talking about something he was familiar with.

"I really love Earth Kingdom folk tales especially those written during the period of Avatar Kuruk. It seemed as if Literature truly flourished during that time. But I love all kinds of literature. Right now, I'm interested in Political Works written by Neimu," Jin said, her eyes glowing with passion.

Zuko felt himself being slapped. He realized that the two of them have completely different views of Literature. He was thinking about Fire Nation Literature while she was referring to Earth Kingdom Literature. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. However, he admired at how passionate Jin seemed to be about this topic.

"One of my favorites among all written works is the folk tale of the great bird spirit Yan Niao and the warrior Zhan Shi. I love how the early writers slowly progressed on the climax until it burst into a full grown spectacle," Jin continued on, making wild gestures with her hands

Zuko, who knew nothing at all, simply nodded and said in an anxious voice, "Yes…..me…..too."

"But nothing….and I mean nothing! Can top off Du Zhe's grand tale of Prince Tong Ku and his beloved, the peasant Wen Zhu! It is just so brilliant in all its simplicity but at the same time it is so…..dramatic with its subtle emotions," Jin rambled on. She was now standing up and her voice was colored with fervor.

Zuko felt a strange mix of admiration and anxiety. He was getting nervous. What if Jin found out that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about? But at the same time he admired how one woman seemed so passionate about something.

"Oh…I'm so rude," Jin giggled. She sat back down and looked at Zuko and said, "I didn't ask you what you liked."

Zuko decided that it was time to veer the topic away from that particular direction.

"So you had a slow day to huh?"

Jin looked confused at Zuko's sudden disinterest in Literature but shrugged it off.

"The worst. I've been going up and down the city looking for people who'll buy my flowers but it seems as if I had a dry spell today," Jin said looking frustrated.

"The shop had a bit of a dry spell too this morning. But I guess it's over now," Zuko said looking around the shop. Almost all the tables were full. He was starting to wonder where Pao was and why he still has not reprimanded Zuko for wasting time. He saw that Pao had disappeared but he was often like that. If business was going great he would often leave the shop to Iroh and Zuko and he would only come back to collect his money.

"It's like no one wanted to buy my flowers. I've been to everywhere from Wu Yuan square to Market-Market," Jin grumbled.

Zuko looked and became confused. He had no idea where Wu Yuan Square or Market-Market was. Although he had been living in Ba Sing Se for a span of about three weeks, he refused to explore the place any further than the Marketplace and the Clothes District. The streets were always bustling with a sea of people and that was something he disliked. Walking amongst the crowd of wall to wall people made him feel claustrophobic and slightly woozy.

Jin noticed the puzzled expression on Zuko's face and she immediately understood.

"No way!"

"What!"

"_No way!_"

"_What!"_

Jin laughed loudly and said in between fits of giggles, "You don't know _any _of those places do you?"

Zuko didn't look at her, too embarrassed to admit that for the past month he spent his free time in his room plotting new ways to capture the Avatar or just plain sulking.

"You've been here for three weeks! You didn't try to explore the city, just once?" Jin demanded looking slightly incensed.

Zuko mumbled something about tea and being busy.

"What is wrong with you? You mean for the past three weeks, you just stayed in your room and sulked?" Jin said wringing her hands.

That was true. The majority of his time was spent in his room silently brooding about his honor, his homeland and his father.

"Ba Sing Se doesn't really interest me," Zuko shrugged.

"Ugh! Nothing interests you!"

"That's not true!"

Jin had now folded her arms and she was looking at him squarely in the eye.

"Ba Sing Se is a really wonderful place! You should take time to appreciate it," Jin said evenly.

Zuko rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "I am just dying to explore the city and all its trash filled and disease infested glory."

Jin lightly slapped his arm and quipped, "Fun-sucker."

"I am not. I'm too busy," Zuko said shortly.

"Too busy doing what? Serving tea? Being grumpy?' Jin retorted.

Zuko wanted to answer that he was too busy finding ways to bring his honor back but he quickly stopped himself. He should control his temper and tendency for outbursts. He sighed and said, "I don't really want to. And besides Ba Sing Se is so big and confusing that I might get lost. And all the people! Ugh! Not worth it!"

Jin's eyes immediately brightened. She was grinning from ear to ear and her face had that look as if she had come up with a great idea.

"I could show you around!"

"You will what!"

"Show you around Ba Sing Se! You won't get lost with me. I could make my way across the city with my hands tied behind my back and my eyes blindfolded!" Jin continued getting more and more excited.

Zuko was not in the mood to take his place among the multitudes of people that walk in the streets of Ba Sing Se daily. He did not find any need to go around the city. There wasn't that much to see anyway.

"No thanks."

But Jin had ignored him and she was now making her way over to the counter where Iroh sat happily serving himself some tea. His uncle often did that when Pao leaves.

"Live a little Li!"

"I have lived through enough."

"You sound like an old man who has seen most of his life."

"I might as well be."

Zuko then came up with another excuse.

"Anyway you're….you're tired from selling all those flowers!"

"No, I'm not. Mushi's tea made me feel better.

Jin rolled her eyes and paid Iroh. Iroh took the coins and placed it in the coin box.

"But I have work!" Zuko protested.

"Mushi wouldn't mind, wouldn't you Mushi?" Jin said as Iroh faced them again.

"Mind what?"

"I'm going to show Li around the city," Jin informed him as Iroh took small sips from his tea. Iroh looked delighted at this idea. He nodded eagerly and said, "Of course! Of course! He needs to have some leisure time after all those hours of working!"

"Just be sure to be back in time for dinner," Iroh added.

Zuko tried to think up of a way to get himself out of this. Using his last resort he said, "Pao would not like it."

"Pao never likes anything," Iroh commented.

Jin laughed and said, "And besides he's not here right now."

Iroh nodded and shared a sly look with Jin. He said, "A wise observation."

"Come on Li! Before he comes back," Jin whispered tugging at his sleeve. She was already darting towards the door and Zuko had no choice but to follow her. He shot his uncle an angry look.

"This is a perfect excuse to distract her!" Iroh whispered.

"Oh," Zuko said as realization dawned on him. Then his uncle started nudging him propelling Zuko back into his foul mood.

"Stop it!" Zuko scowled as Jin tugged at his sleeve and slowly dragged him outside. He sighed. He knew he would lose. Once Jin set her mind on something, she would not give it up.

"Have fun!" Iroh cheerfully called as they disappeared from his view.

And at that timely moment Pao arrived, looking furious that his employee was once again wasting time with his _girlfriend._ By the time he started cursing and yelling, Zuko and Jin were already out of the tea shop.

* * *

"I still think this is a bad idea," Zuko mumbled as Jin dragged him across the street. Like every other day, it was filled with people, going in all different directions. Loud voices of vendors accompanied with raucous chatter of children all melded into one cacophonic sound. Zuko's head started to ache from all the people pressing around them and the loud noises resonating from everywhere. He turned to look at Jin and was mildly impressed at her uncanny ability to weave herself through the crowd and to navigate herself through the confusing and large road network of Ba Sing Se.

He noticed that Jin had light feet. His mind momentarily wavered to their date when Jin had gently pulled him along towards the fountain. She had taken quick but sure steps without even looking forward. Very much like that night, Jin expertly maneuvered herself through the dense crowd without any form of hesitation.

Jin playfully swatted his arm and said, "Don't be such a loser! Come on! There's this place I think you would really like to see!"

Zuko wrinkled his nose and said, "Where are we going?"

"I am going to let you meet my neighbor!" Jin said excitedly.

"The one who lets you work in the forge?"

Zuko temporarily forgot his foul mood. He could still not embed it into his mind that Jin was an earthbender or that she seemed to have an affinity for dangerous weapons.

They took a sharp turn to the right and entered a twisting passageway. Above them clothes hanging in clothesline billowed in the wind. Zuko bit his tongue and decided not to ask her anymore questions or complain since she seemed too excited to respond. Finally they made a turn to the right where it exited unto big field with a cluster of run-down brick buildings encircling it. A large and weather-beaten tent was propped up against one of the buildings.

Zuko deduced that it was a forge from the smoke fluttering everywhere to the distinct sounds of metal clashing against each other. Jin motioned him to follow her and together they entered the tent. The forge was bursting with activity. Large, thick-muscled men moved to and fro carrying buckets of hot liquid or holding large, metal hammers in their hands. Embers and sparks flew everywhere and the whole room was hot and stuffy. Zuko started sweating up a storm after only few minutes of just standing there.

He still could not imagine Jin staying here, working amongst the burly men with a hammer in hand, beating and shaping the metal into a weapon. This place was just too dangerous for a girl as delicate as her. He instinctively touched her shoulder and inched his face towards her. She looked absolutely unaffected—happy even.

"You go here sometimes?" Zuko could not hide the surprise in his voice.

Jin noticed it and said in a slightly annoyed tone, "Yes, why?"

"Nothing," Zuko said looking away. He noticed that Jin was studying him with a look on her face. It was as if she was challenging him to make a comment. When Zuko said nothing Jin shrugged and started walking around the shop. Unfamiliar with the place, Zuko just followed her around. She suddenly stopped and picked up an arrow. The metal part of it was still scalding hot and it was glowing white.

Jin started tossing it up and down much to Zuko's panic. When the arrow fell down for the fifth time, Zuko snatched it before Jin could catch it.

"Hey!"

"It's too dangerous for you! You could get burned!" Zuko said putting the arrow down.

"Li! I've been handling weapons since I was six years old! There's no need to worry," Jin said scoffed.

"But you could injure yourself! A girl like you shouldn't even be here!" Zuko argued.

"Excuse me?" Jin said placing her hands on her hips. She looked extremely offended.

"Look at this place! You could burn yourself or pour hot water on yourself or….or….you could accidentally stab yourself with a sword!"

"You are being ridiculous," Jin said. She now looked completely annoyed.

"And I don't like the look these men," Zuko said looking around suspiciously. In a lower voice he added, "They keep looking at you in a weird way. They could very well overpower you."

"You are so paranoid. I can't take care of myself!" Jin cried exasperated.

"And she most definitely can," a loud, booming voice said. Zuko and Jin turned to find an old man walking towards them. He had a big black beard streaked with grey and his mouth was mostly obscured by his facial hair. He sported a most odd hairstyle; on his head were two pigtails and his hair was ridden with bald spots making his head look oddly like a soccer ball. He did not look like a man fit to work in a forge since he was extremely thin and scraggly. His eyebrows looked peculiar too—they were big and bushy but they looked upturn.

"Duan Jie!" Jin said jovially as the man approached. The man was greased with soot but he looked extremely kind. His eyes crinkled whenever he smiled.

"Jin!" he cried excitedly.

Duan Jie approached them and turned to look at Zuko. Duan jie stared at Zuko with a critical eye.

"Now who is this young man?" Duan Jie asked rubbing his beard.

Zuko held his hand out reluctantly.

"My name is Li. I'm Jin's friend," Zuko said.

Duan Jie grabbed Zuko's hand with his two hands and shook it vigorously.

"My name is Duan Jie. I own this forge," he said happily. When he let go of Zuko's hand, Zuko noticed that his hand was now lined with soot. He discreetly tried to wipe them off his hand.

"Jin talks about you," Zuko politely said.

"Does she now? It's always nice to know that a pretty young lady _still _talks about me," Duan Jie chuckled. Then he turned to look at Zuko. He patted Zuko's biceps.

"He looks very strong. I could use a man like him here. Is he looking for work?" Duan Jie asked.

"Oh no! He already has a job!" Jin said shaking her head.

"I work at a teashop," Zuko said.

"Really? Is this the teashop Jin keeps on raving about?" Duan Jie asked, shooting Jin with a look Zuko did not understand.

"The one and only!" Jin laughed.

Duan Jie rubbed his hands together and said in a happy voice, "Well now….I better get myself there sometime. Why don't we go there together next Tuesday, if that's all right with you Jin?"

Jin nodded, "Of course!"

Duan Jie elbowed Zuko lightly and said, "Guess we'll see each other again eh?"

"Just don't order any of my uncle's new blends," Zuko warned him seriously.

She looked around the forge. "Busy day?"

"Very. Three men ordered swords and shields and another wanted his sword fixed," Duan Jie said leading them deeper into the forge. He picked up a sword lying on an anvil. It was bent badly.

"This looks awful! How did it get to such a state?" Jin asked as she examined the sword closer. Zuko watched her as she her fingers expertly skimmed across the hilt all the way to where it got bent.

"He wouldn't say," Duan Jie shrugged. Then in a more conspiratorial tone he whispered, "Some say he had a run-in with the Dai Li."

Jin immediately stiffened at the word Dai Li. Zuko noticed this and craned his neck to hear more.

"I really hate them! They're stupid and ridiculous! We could barely move without worrying that it might have displeased the Dai Li!" Duan Jie grumbled.

Zuko noticed that whole forge became silent after that. Beside him Jin stiffened and she looked nervous. One of the men who was pouring cold water on a short sword, took his mask off and nervously whispered, "Don't go saying things like that Duan! The Dai Li could very well be at our doorsteps!"

Duan Jie however, simply scoffed and said, "I do not care! The Dai Li does not frighten me!"

He then grabbed a nearby hammer and whacked it against the anvil. "If they ever try to pull something like that on me then…." BAM! Another whack resonated across the forge.

"This looks easy enough. If no one can work on it by tomorrow will you let me do it?" Jin said as she balanced the sword with her pointer finger.

"Of course! Of course! I was actually hoping that you would make the offer," Duan Jie said patting her back.

"You are the best blacksmith I have ever come upon!" Duan Jie added as Jin put the sword back.

"If she's the best why can't she work here?" Zuko asked genuinely curious. Although he did not like the idea of Jin constantly endangering herself with all this fire and hot water, he understood that she really liked metallurgy and if it was her interest, who was he to judge?

Duan Jie looked sad and Jin lowered her eyes. He shook his head, clamped a hand on Zuko's shoulder and said grimly, "Prejudice reigns freely here in Ba Sing Se. I'm afraid women are not given the same opportunities as men. A girl working in my forge would raise too much talk."

Zuko immediately felt embarrassed for asking a question that seemed so unwanted by Jin.

"I'd pay her of course whenever she fixes and forges some weapons for me but she never accepts the money," Duan Jie said elbowing Jin. Jin laughed, patted his head and said, "I consider this as more of a hobby!"

Suddenly Duan Jie grabbed Jin's arm and said in a warning tone, "Speaking of the Dai Li Jin….I'm not afraid of them but…but I am afraid for you. I warn you to be very careful about….your….uh…."

His eyes flickered to Zuko.

"Um….I know," Zuko said.

Duan Jie looked surprised.

"He caught me," Jin said. She looked extremely ashamed.

Duan Jie's eyebrows rose higher. In a low voice he said, "Which is why you must proceed with caution! Pei has gone missing."

Jin looked shocked and slightly worried.

"Even in your own home you must not do _it. _I have noted that Dai Li are much more suspicious for some reason," Duan Jie said looking from side to side.

"I'll be careful," Jin nodded.

He sat up straight and said in a significant tone, "I have a feeling that a great series of events will soon change the tide of things."

Zuko did not know why he suddenly felt so uncomfortable. He was sweating much more than he did when he first came here. He looked around to distract himself.

Duan Jie draped an arm over Jin and Zuko's shoulder and said in a much lighter tone, "So what are you and your friend doing here?"

"He's new here. I'm showing him around Ba Sing Se," Jin explained.

"I don't think he'd like staying in a hot and sweaty forge for the rest of the day," Duan Jie laughed as he grabbed a bag.

He then turned to Zuko whose face was now soaked with sweat.

"My boy! You are sweating buckets!" he exclaimed.

"I think we better leave," Jin said wiping the sweat from her own forehead.

"Yes, but not before….." Duan Jie fumbled through his bag.

"Some Coconut Bars!" he said holding one in each hand. He handed one each to Zuko and Jin.

"Coconut….Bars?" Zuko said cluelessly. He was very unfamiliar with earth kingdom cuisine. Jin however seemed extremely happy with the coconut bars. She said thank you many times before giving a mid bow.

"Thank you for having us," Zuko said following Jin. He wasn't too adept with earth kingdom customs but he supposed that bowing to people before leaving was one of them.

"Of course! Of course! Do come back soon!" Duan Jie said as Jin and Zuko left licking the coconut bars.

"And if possible Jin, bring your friend along! Perhaps he will be as good at smelting as you!" Duan Jie called as they disappeared into the corner.

* * *

Zuko noticed that Jin was finishing her Coconut Bar at a much faster pace than he was. He stared at cold and creamy desert and tried his best to eat it as fast as Jin but he found himself unable to since the bar was slowly melting into a sticky goo. It dripped all over his hand, making Zuko cringed in disgust. He was very unfamiliar with this desert. It was very similar to the ice cream he was used to back in the Fire Nation although it was rectangular in shape and instead of a cone, it was held by a small stick.

"Your Coconut Bar is melting," Jin stated. She was staring at him with a curious expression on her face.

"I don't like Coconut Bars that much," Zuko lied. He actually liked the taste. He just didn't like it dripping all over his hand.

Jin laughed loudly and she momentarily disappeared from Zuko's line of vision for awhile. Zuko panicked a little bit, thinking that Jin had left him all alone but calmed down once he saw her again. She had completely finished her Coconut Bar and she was carrying a small rag in her hand. She motioned Zuko to hold his hand out and he did so reluctantly. Jin then began wiping his hand.

"You are the weirdest person I have ever met. Who doesn't like Coconut Bars?"

"I actually like it….It's just that it melts too fast," Zuko said weakly.

"Of course it melts fast! That's the point of eating it quickly!" Jin said rolling her eyes. After a few moments of silence she looked at him and said, "Don't tell me you've never tasted a Coconut bar before."

Zuko felt nervous again. What was he supposed to say? That he really never tasted a Coconut before since he lived most of his life in the Fire Nation?

"Um…..because…because…."

What did he tell Jin again during their date? He scratched his head in an effort to remember.

"Because I travel so much…..in a…..ugh….circus I don't really have time to eat….stuff like this. I need to be in tip top shape," Zuko mumbled remembering his previous lie. By then he had no idea what he was talking about or even if what he told her sounded remotely believable.

"In tip top shape for what? Juggling?" Jin giggled.

"It's not easy being a juggler!" Zuko snapped.

"Of course Li," Jin said in a patronizing tone.

"Don't patronize me!"

"Sorry Sir Grumpy!"

"And don't call me that!"

"Relax! I have to bring you to a Yoga teacher sometime."

"Yoga?"

"It's a form of relaxation. I think if you try it, you probably won't be so wound up as tight."

"I can relax just fine!"

"Maybe you should try some meditation," Jin suggested ignoring the fact that Zuko was getting more and more riled up.

"I know how to meditate! I do it every night!"

"Maybe you're doing it wrong."

"I've been doing it for years," Zuko flatly said.

"Maybe it's time you change your technique."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop pretending that you know me."

"I'm not. I'm just trying to help you stop being so cranky."

Zuko sighed and glared at her. Jin seemed completely unfazed by his bad social skills and lousy temper.

"I'll show you around Market-Market. I know a great stall that sells all these great books. They have some History books too. Maybe you could buy some. Reading can help you relax too you know," Jin said as grabbed his arm and started dragging him to a more populated area of Ba Sing Se.

"I don't need advice on how to relax!" Zuko growled as he tried to match Jin's lithe steps. She was very quick and Zuko had trouble sometimes catching up with her. She took him to Market-Market which Market was just like any regular marketplace except it was louder, the crowd was denser and the wares people were selling had more variety. They spent thirty minutes looking through different stalls before going to the stall that sold books.

The owner who owned the stall was another friend of Jin. He was a middle-aged man, burly with his hair pleated in a long braid. His face looked heavy and his hands were as big cabbages. He would have looked threatening if it weren't for his soft voice and happy demeanor. His stall was small and overcrowded with scrolls protruding in every direction. The whole place smelled like paper.

The man—who Jin introduced as Shu—started handing Jin several scrolls. They started talking about politics and Literature, things Zuko was really clueless about. To avoid being roped into the discussion he looked around and avoided their gazes.

"Professor Lu Xun recently released this. Many of the critics said that it was good," Shu said procuring a thick scroll.

Jin wrinkled her nose and said, "I don't really like him. He's too arrogant and his essays are mostly about Dai Li propaganda."

Shu froze in his seat. Zuko noticed that whenever people mention the Dai Li everyone seems to get nervous and time stops momentarily. Shu seemed eager to change the topic.

"How about your friend?" he asked jerking his head in Zuko's direction. Then in a more serious tone he asked, "You can read can you?"

"I'm not illiterate!" Zuko snapped. He was really offended by the question. He was the Prince of the Fire nation. He has studied with the best tutors and teachers in the country. He was one of the most learned men in the world.

"Sorry, kid. It's just that most people here in the Lower Ring don't even finish grammar school. I just didn't want to assume," Shu shrugged apologetically.

"Li likes history," Jin said, trying her best to abate the situation after noticing that Zuko had an irritated look on his face.

"I just have the thing for you fella. This was gathered by the Ba Sing Se University Historical Assembly. It's really nice and detailed and it spans from the very first Earth King to the last. But it mostly revolves around the Dynastic Cycles," Shu explained as he took a big and heavy scroll out. It was help by a strong metal clamp. Zuko looked around expecting Jin to state her opinion on the book but found that she had disappeared into one of the other stalls.

"Where is she going?" Zuko asked as Shu gave him the key to open the metal clamp. Zuko opened the scroll and examined it. The writings were in a neat and steady scroll but they written so close together that it made Zuko dizzy.

Shu shrugged and said, "She's not too keen on History."

Zuko remembered what Jin told her earlier.

"Why not?"

"She wouldn't say exactly. But it's really unbelievable considering how much she knows about Earth Kingdom History," Shu said shaking his head.

"So will you buy it?"

""Maybe next time. We're just window shopping," Zuko said putting it back down. Shu nodded and put the scroll away. Zuko started feeling awkward after realizing that he and Shu were alone together and he had absolutely no idea what to talk about with him. He started twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to tone down all the awkwardness.

"So….."

"So…."

"Yeah?" Zuko jerked his head up and prompted Shu to continue the conversation. He was dying to kill all this discomfort and unease.

"So you and Jin…..how do you kids call it these days," he muttered under his breath. Then he snapped his fingers and said, "Ah…dating isn't it? You and Jin are dating?"

"No!" Zuko said a little too loudly. Then in a calmer voice he mumbled, "We're just friends."

"That's all right, kid. I'm sure you'll get there someday," Shu said sympathetically patting Zuko's arm. Zuko was too tired to argue. What was it with people being so pushy between him and Jin? It was as if they had nothing better to do then to be so meddlesome in other people's lives. Zuko grunted.

"So, you new around here, kid?"

"Yeah." Zuko felt like he had nothing else to add.

"You'll like Ba Sing Se. It's a great city. It's a good chance to start a new life," Shu said as he started re-arranging the scrolls. Zuko frowned. He doesn't want to start a new life. He wanted to leave Ba Sing Se! He wanted to go home. He became lost in his thoughts once again that he ignored Shu's long explanation about a particular book. His focused only snapped back to attention after Shu started rambling about Literature.

"The Miaos Legacies are a staple in Earth Kingdom Literature. Personally, the writing style is a bit off but…."

An idea started forming in Zuko's head. Of course! This man sold books which meant that he was probably knowledgeable when it came to Earth Kingdom Literature. He politely interrupted Shu, "Do you know more stuff about literature?"

"Of course but not as much as Jin. That girl swallowed every kind of book in literature, I reckon," the man chuckled. His eyes trailed to where Jin was. She had gone into a stall that sold birds nearby and she was staring in delight as two lovebirds twittered to each other.

"She's one smart cookie, that one. Amazing how smart she is considering that she's just from the Lower Ring," Shu added.

"Well Jin told me about the Bird spirit and that prince person….." Zuko said lamely. He felt really stupid.

"The Legend of Yan Niao and Zhan Shi and the Warriors of Earth? Good choices, kid," Shu commented as he scrambled to locate the scrolls. Zuko felt proud of himself that he didn't make himself seem so stupid in front of Shu

"And some books written by Neimu," Zuko quickly added after remembering that Jin had mentioned him. Shu nodded and started taking out some scrolls. Zuko decided that that was very clever of him. He could read all these books so whenever a discussion came up about Literature and stories he wouldn't feel so stupid or nervous.

Shu separated them into two piles. The piles in the right had newer looking scrolls while the left pile's scrolls looked rundown and frayed at the edges.

Shu gestured to the right pile and said, "These are worth thirty a piece." Zuko's eyes bulged. He didn't bring that kind of money with him.

Noticing his expression Shu snickered and pointed to the left pile saying, "And these are seventeen a piece. I assume you'll be taking the left pile."

Zuko counted all his money and he discovered that if he brought the scrolls from the left pile, he could still buy two more. Zuko decided that he was really curious why Jin seemed so dismayed with Earth Kingdom History. He told Shu that he'll buy the History Scroll after all.

"Can you give me one more? Just tell me what you think I should buy. Something Jin would…like," Zuko said. This way if Jin started talking about other things he would know what she was talking about and he wouldn't raise suspicion.

Zuo Zhe winked at him and said, "Trying to impress the girl using the old noggin eh?"

Zuko just rolled his eyes. Shu suggested The Miaos Legacies. Zuko paid for all of it and took the crusty, brown papers, carefully placing them in a paper bag. Jin arrived just as Zuko placed the last scroll in and she looked very happy. Shu greeted her with a wave while Zuko just nodded.

"I think me and Li should get going now. It's a long way back to the teashop and his uncle will be waiting," Jin said as she grabbed Zuko's arm. Just as they were about to leave Shu called Jin and motioned her to come closer. Jin nodded expectantly and did so.

Shu nodded and shrugged. Then he glanced side to side and pulled Jin's sleeve, drawing her closer. Zuko watched with interest as he slid a scroll into the fold of her sleeves.

"No need for pay," he said.

"Thanks," Jin whispered. Shu suddenly started looking at Zuko suspiciously.

"Don't worry. He knows," Jin murmured.

Zuko's eyes flew open in realization. They were talking about her bending. Shu looked worried but nodded anyway. Jin bid him goodbye once again and she ran towards Zuko who was waiting for her by a food stall. Zuko noticed that Jin's arms were folded in her sleeve and she kept looking around.

"What did he give you?" he asked curiously. Jin just eyed him warily.

In a low voice she said, "An Earthbending scroll."

"What?" He couldn't hear her.

"An Earthbending scroll! Seesh!"

"Why would you want one? Isn't it kind of dangerous with the DaI Li and all?" Zuko said worriedly. Duan Jie's warning rang in his ears.

"That's why I'm hiding it!" Jin said exasperated.

"Well excuse me for just looking out for you!"

"I carry my own weight! I can take care of myself!" Jin snapped.

"Fine!"

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Zuko decided to venture in another attempt at a conversation. He held his paper bag out and said, "Put it in here."

"What?"

"You look suspicious with your sleeves folded up."

"So?"

"Put it in here. You'll feel less uncomfortable."

"It's alright. I'm pretty sure I am more than capable of carrying a scroll," Jin said rolling her eyes.

Zuko glared at her and retorted, "You won't be saying that once the Dai Li catches you."

"Pffft."

"Put it in here,' Zuko urged more insistently this time.

"Fine! Just stop talking so loud! You're drawing attention," Jin hissed as she swiftly slid the scroll in the bag.

"So what kind of books did you buy?"

"They're just History books," Zuko lied. Jin's face melded into an unreadable expression.

"Are you okay?' Zuko asked concern.

"Yeah, sure."

Zuko stared at her skeptically but he decided to let it go. Her cheerful and carefree expression had come back to her face.

"So what's it for?" Zuko expected her to tell him that it was for her studies.

"It's so I can continue my training."

"Your training?"

"As an Earthbender! Please Li, keep up!" Jin said rolling her eyes.

"But don't you need a master?"

"Secret earthbender remember?"

"But you can't possibly learn just by reading the scrolls!" Zuko protested.

"I'm a fast learner. And besides I'm almost done with my training. I just need to complete one more scroll after this before becoming a master," Jin said proudly. Zuko stared at her in amazement.

"Where do you practice?"

"Why should I tell you? You know too much already," Jin pointed out.

"I'm just curious how you manage to squeeze Earthbending in, in this overcrowded city without attracting attention."

"I have my ways."

"No, seriously. Tell me where you practice," Zuko said insistently.

"Why is it such a big deal for you?"

"I don't know. Maybe I could accompany you when you practice."

"Why would you do that?"

"So I can protect you if something bad happens."

"I'm a very capable earthbender who is well-versed in almost all weapons. I think I can handle myself in a fight."

"Yeah, I know that—''

Jin interrupted him. Her mouth was set into a thin line.

"I hate it when people make assumptions just because I look weak and I'm a girl."

"I'm not making assumptions. I'm just saying that the Dai Li usually win through numbers. You need someone to be there with you just in case," Zuko hastily said.

"Aww…..you do care."

"Whatever," Zuko grumbled.

"I don't usually go there alone anyways," Jin said. She started playing with the hem of her dress.

"You don't?" Zuko said. He suddenly felt something weird in his chest.

"Are you jealous?" Jin asked seeing the expression on Zuko's face. Zuko blushed and looked away.

"No!" He was absolutely not jealous. Why should he be? Why should he care that Jin was probably earthbending with another earthbender? Who was probably a guy. Who was probably handsomer than him. He'll stop that train of thought before he unwittingly loses his temper for some unknown reason.

"You don't have to yell!" Jin snickered.

"You don't have to be so assuming."

"I'm not the one who's getting riled up over nothing."

"So what's it like?" Zuko asked eager to stifle Jin's giggles.

"It's a really spacious. Enough room for me and my brother to practice."

"You have a brother?" Zuko asked in surprised. It was then that he realized that despite their many conversations he did not know much about her.

"Two, actually. I'm the youngest," Jin said wrinkling her nose.

"What are their names?" Zuko asked, genuinely curious.

"Ge Jiang and He Shen" Jin answered.

"Are they benders too?"

"They're the best. Ge Jiang is a master already and He Shen just needs one more scroll before becoming one."

"What are they like?"

"I don't think you'd like either of them very much."

"Try me," Zuko challenged.

Jin rubbed her chin and said in a thoughtful voice, "I guess between the two of them you would like He Shen more."

She shrugged and added, "Between the two of them I like He Shen more."

"Why's that?"

Jin frowned and said, "I don't know. I guess it's because me Ge Jiang get into too much arguments. How about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Zuko mused about it for a moment. He was wondering how far he should lie.

"Just one."

"What happened to her?" Jin asked suddenly concerned. She stared at him worriedly.

"Huh?"

"What happened to her? I mean….she doesn't live with you and your uncle…."

"Oh." Zuko started panicking again. What should he tell her? That she's not with him and his uncle because she's too busy trying to kill him.

"She…..lives with my dad. We don't really get along too," Zuko said hurriedly wanting to dismiss the topic. Jin seemed to noticed that because she didn't ask anymore questions about his family.

"Me and Ge Jiang _never _agree. But after the war I realized that all we had left was each other. We shouldn't even be arguing because now is not the time to turn against each other," Jin continued. She was saying it as if she was trying to convince herself more than Zuko.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you met my sister. She's cruel, manipulative and mean," Zuko spat before he could stop himself. Jin stared at him with a shock look on her face.

"Do you miss her sometimes?"

"No." Zuko tried to looked away from her but Jin persistently held her gaze.

"I used to think that Ge Jiang was mean. In fact, I still think that he _is _mean. I mean….he was always the better bender and he never misses out an opportunity to show it off and rub it in my face. He always makes it a point to show me that me and He Shen will never be as good as him. I mean that's kinda true…"

"No, it's not."

"How would you know? You've never seen me bend."

"Everyone can be as good as they want. You shouldn't let yourself be defined by other people."

"Wow…..so now you're my psychiatrist," Jin whistled sarcastically.

Zuko exhaled loudly.

"I'm just saying—''

"I get your point! What I'm trying to say is even though my older brother can be a royal jerk sometimes, he's still family," Jin said exasperated. In a lower voice she added, "And in this time of war we have got to hold on to what little we have left. We can't choose our family."

Zuko frowned and looked unconvinced.

"If it makes you feel better….I know how you feel."

"Really?" Jin skeptically said.

"Yeah. You see, my sister…..she was also better than me at everything—and she wasn't very humble about it either."

"Better than you at what kinds of stuff?"

Zuko froze. How was he supposed to tell her that Azula was better than him in _firebending._

"You know. The usual…" Zuko mumbled unwilling to let the topic go any further. Jin stared at him curiously but she decided not to push it farther. Instead they walked in silence for a few minutes before Jin finally broke it.

"Li…..can you do something for me? As a friend?"

"What? I already let you drag me around in this putrid city," Zuko muttered.

"Ba Sing Se is not putrid!" Jin snapped.

"Fine! What do you want?" Zuko asked in a softer voice.

"I want you to make peace with your sister if you ever meet again. We all need to cling unto what little family we have left in this war," Jin told him. Zuko stared at her. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to even talk to Azula. She was the source of all his misery in life. How could he make peace with her?

Zuko was about to say no but he stopped himself. He stared at Jin's big, green eyes and saw that she was serious and sincere in what she was asking of him.

"Yes," Zuko whispered. Then in a louder voice he repeated, "Yes. I'll make peace with her."

And for some reason he wasn't lying to her about that.

* * *

They turned around a corner where the teashop came into view. Zuko saw that Pao and Iroh were _both _waiting for him outside the teashop. Pao looked very unhappy while Iroh was his usual jolly self.

Zuko groaned and rubbed his temples.

"Li!"

"Hi, Pao!" Jin said before Zuko could speak. She skipped over towards Pao, whose face had turn into an ugly color of purple.

Pao turned away from Jin snobbishly before proceeding to yell at Zuko. It took all of Zuko's patience to keep himself from yelling back. At the sidelines, Jin and Iroh simply watched on with an amused expression on their faces. Finally, Pao was through scolding Zuko and he immediately demanded his money from Iroh. After receiving the money he turned on his heels and left, talking about 'castrations' and 'silly teenagers' under his breath.

"He seems charming," Jin smirked.

"He is actually quite decent once you get to know him," Iroh said.

Zuko stomped his way towards them and said in an angry tone, "Ugh! I can't believe this!"

He turned towards Jin who was trying her best not to break out in giggles.

"This was all your idea!"

Jin simply broke out into laughter. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"You youngsters better come along now. The food I have prepared for all of us is getting cold," Iroh said. He draped an arm around each of Zuko and Jin's shoulder and he led them towards their small apartment.

Zuko and Jin hung in the back so they could talk some more while Iroh led the way up in the front.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Worried about what?"

"The Dai Li discovering your _supposedly_ super secret practicing grounds," Zuko said as they made a turn.

"Supposedly? If you saw it then you wouldn't think so," Jin sniffed and turned her nose up in the air.

"Then show it to me!" Zuko said persistently.

"Ugh, no!"

"Come on! I already know that you're an earthbender so I don't see why it's such a big deal!"

Jin stubbornly shook her head. Zuko realized that it will probably take awhile considering how pig-headed both of them were being.

"If you won't…..I won't give you your scroll back!"

"That's just playing dirty!" Jin said. She attempted to steal the scroll away from the paper bag. Zuko easily dodged her and they ended up getting wayward from the direction they were going.

"Just show me where you practice!"

Jin shook her head and she continued her attempts at reclaiming her scroll. Finally she made a lunge at it but a box snagged her foot causing her trip and fall on Zuko.

"Ouch!"

"Fine! I'll show it to you tomorrow," Jin snapped. Zuko handed back the scroll to her.

"So this where you two disappeared off to!" they heard Iroh's voice say. They both looked up to find Iroh smirking at them. It was then that Zuko realized that he and Jin were in a rather….awkward and compromising position.

Zuko growled and they both jumped up. Jin looked completely unaffected.

"Now not before dinner you two," Iroh suggestively said as he patted Jin in the back. Jin cheerfully smiled. Zuko noticed that she discreetly hid the scroll in between the folds of her sleeves again. Jin went ahead of them leaving Iroh and Zuko alone.

"Aren't the girls of Ba Sing Se so pretty that sometimes you just can't resist?" Iroh commented, wagging his eyebrows.

"Shut up uncle!"

* * *

Zuko did not know why but he felt ashamed to show Jin their apartment. He told himself that Jin's apartment was probably similar and maybe it was even smaller but he still couldn't banish the underlying shame of seeing the small, dingy place they called home. He saw that his uncle had done a fairly good job with hiding all their Fire Nation wares. Suddenly his eyes caught something and he panicked. His Dual Dao swords were still displayed on the wall. He glared at his uncle and tried to motion for him to distract Jin so he could hide the swords but it was already too late. Jin had already seen them.

"Whoa! Are these yours?" Jin asked as she made a beeline towards the swords. She grabbed the swords and started examining them.

"Um…yeah…..but I don't—''

"This is so cool Li!" Jin smiled. Zuko stared at her shell-shocked. That was not the reaction he was expecting.

"Huh?"

"You know how to use these? I've never seen a weapon like this before," Jin said. Zuko cringed. Of course she had never seen a weapon like that before. It was from the Fire Nation!

She started making complicated movements with the swords. Zuko observed that she still moved awkwardly with it. Suddenly, she twisted her wrists in the wrong way and one sword fell out of her grasp. Behind them Iroh watched on with an amused smile. He was preparing their dinner.

Jin looked frustrated.

"Don't think of it as two entirely different swords. Remember they're two parts of the same whole," Zuko advised as he picked the sword up. Jin looked impressed.

"You have to teach me this!"

Zuko just stared at her, his face etched with shock.

"Li?"

"Huh?"

"Are you going teach me this or what?"

"Yeah sure. I'll teach you how to use it," Zuko smiled. At least they will be doing something that he was more at ease with.

"I'll probably have to forge my own set, though," Jin mumbled absent mindedly as she placed the swords back on the wall.

"So you know how to use these?"

Zuko puffed his chest a little bit and said proudly, "Yeah. I'm actually kind of a Dual Dao master actually….."

"Really?" Jin said skeptically.

"You'll see for yourself once we start sparring," Zuko informed her shortly after seeing the skeptical look on her face.

Iroh then called them to dinner. Zuko discovered that Iroh actually bought roasted ducks and some fish from a nearby restaurant but he was trying to pass them off as the products of his own cooking.

"So you are not only a teamaker but a cook as well," Jin commented as she ate some more fish.

"I have many talents," Iroh shrugged as Zuko rolled his eyes. Zuko found himself actually enjoying their dinner. They had a good and light conversation afterwards with Iroh constantly telling "stories" about himself when he was a young man. Iroh then decided that they should make some music so he took his guitar out and started singing. Jin laughed lightly and sang along with Iroh while Zuko just stared at them refusing to partake in any of the ridiculous songs they were singing. Finally after a rendition of "Four season" Zuko lost his temper and told them in peevish voice that he did not want to hear anymore songs.

Iroh looked annoyed but grudgingly stopped playing his guitar. He then suggested that Jin and him played Pai Sho.

"I don't really like Pai Sho," Jin admitted as Iroh took the board out.

"So do I. It's a really pointless game," Zuko spat. Iroh looked extremely offended.

"You two shouldn't say something so horrible!" Iroh chided as he took the tiles out. Zuko just crossed his arms and waited for inevitable boredom Jin was about to feel. As soon as everything was set up, Iroh motioned for Jin to go first.

"The newcomer must make the first move," Iroh said giving a short bow.

Jin examined all the tiles she was given seriously. After a few minutes of silence she placed one tile in the middle. She looked up at Iroh, confident with her choice.

Iroh looked at the tile she procured and immediately he was overcome with so much shock that he could barely get the three syllables out.

"The….the Lotus tile?"

"Yes….is there anything wrong?" Jin asked looking worried. Zuko stared at both of them, confused at why his uncle suddenly looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Iroh quickly recovered his composure and said in a steady voice, "A very unusual choice. Is there anyone who taught you how to play using this particular strategy?"

"I don't know. I guess my dad always played his Pai Sho games this way," Jin shrugged. Iroh nodded and placed his own tile. As Zuko watched them, he observed that unlike most of his uncle's usual competitors Jin took her sweet time before making her move. As the game progressed it seemed as if Jin was winning. Iroh even started to look worried.

However during the last few turns, Jin started to lose, until finally Iroh narrowly won the game. He clapped his hands together and as a reward for being such a good Pai She player he gave Jin some honey cakes.

"You must start influencing my nephew to be as good as Pai Sho player as you," Iroh said.

"I'll try," Jin laughed. They talked some more before Jin announced that she was about to leave.

"You were wonderful company," Iroh said as Jin headed out to the door.

"Hey wait!" Zuko said.

"What?"

"You're going out there? Alone?"

"Yes, why?"

"It's too dangerous. Lots of shady characters are out there."

"You are just being paranoid," Jin said shaking her head.

She gave a mid-bow and thanked Iroh for the good game and the food while she waved goodbye to Zuko reminding him about the Yan Yuan Players. Iroh nudged Zuko making him blush. Jin waved a final goodbye before disappearing into the corner.

"You should've stopped her," Zuko told his uncle as they shut the door.

"I should've stopped her to do what?"

"You should've stopped her from walking in the streets alone."

"And why me?"

"Because she listens to you!"

"Well, I'm glad you actually care about someone Prince Zuko," Iroh commented.

"I do not!" Zuko said stomping his feet. He started cleaning the table up. He was angry and irritated that he was starting to make friends here in Ba Sing se. That he was starting to make a life in Ba Sing se. People make friends when they intend on keeping them. Zuko did not want to be stuck in Ba Sing Se for the rest of his life. He wanted to go home.

"I should stop spending time with her."

Iroh froze.

"What?" he said it as if he did not hear Zuko.

"I should stop spending time with her."

"And why is that?" Iroh said putting his arms in his hips.

"Because I don't want to make a life here! I don't want to make friends, uncle! I want to go home!" Zuko said loudly, slamming the chopsticks into the table.

"This is our home Prince Zuko," Iroh said with a sense of finality. He turned away from his nephew and they continued to keep all the utensils and the plates in silence. Zuko didn't feel like talking to his uncle anymore. His whole body was pulsating with rage. How dare his uncle compare his filthy hovel as their home? He should be in a palace where hundreds of servants are waiting on him. Not in this cramped apartment making through life as a tea server.

"And you _should_ reconsider about your decision in not spending time with her," Iroh said as they prepared to go to bed.

Zuko grunted. He opened the doors that led to his room and slammed them shut.

"There is so much more to her than meets the eye," Iroh whispered in a soft voice.

Through the spaces between his fingers, the Lotus tile precariosuly sat.

* * *

_It's a bit longer than the first two. I just thought that I'd like to warn all of you that it usually takes me more than one week to update a chapter up. I don't want to update everyday but produce crappy work. This one took a little longer because there was an error or something. For the next chapter it will be mostly like this. Zuko-Jin friendship bonding stuff. It will be about two chapters more before any real action-y stuff happens. So now we caught a glimpse of Jin's life. By next chapter we'll be meeting the rest of Jin's family or more specifically her brothers. If you want to find out more about her….stay tuned._

_By the way I suggest that you guys start paying attention to the little details about Jin from this chapter on. It's going to be important in the next chapters. _

_Thanks to SkorpionQueen012 for reviewing again and for trying to help me upload my new chapter!  
_

_Thanks to ArrayePL for the reviews too and for all the people who bothered to read this!_

_But please don't leave me hanging. Keep the reviews coming. _


	4. Part IV

**Burning Bright**

_Part IV_

Zuko spent most of the night reading the books he bought. So far, he only managed to finish the Tale of Yan Niao and Zhan Shi. He had to admit that he did have a lot of difficulty reading the book. Although there was only the slightest difference between the strokes of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom characters each stroke meant different things to each nation. After thirty minutes of fruitless reading, he had to go to the marketplace to buy a dictionary. He became nervous out of fear from arousing suspicion but it was quickly abated after he realized that no one seemed to really care that he had just bought a dictionary for Earth Kingdom and Fire nation characters in the middle of the night.

As Zuko was making his way back home he noted that not everyone in here seemed to know that a war was going on beyond the walls. It was as if everyone merely wished to forget all the bad things that were happening outside the wall. Zuko shook his head and growled. This was another reason why this stupid city was so wretched. It was full of lies. He paused in mid-step.

But then wasn't he full of lies too? Wasn't he just like everyone else in the city? Liars pretending that nothing was wrong. In frustration, Zuko slammed his fist against the table, nearly setting the dictionary he just bought ablaze. He stopped himself and quickly put the fire out. He should learn to control his temper.

He decided to think no more about it and settled on reading the book.

Zuko started re-reading the book with the dictionary propped up against his pillow. Every so often, he would stop to search for something in the dictionary. It was long and tedious work but he discovered that what Jin had said was right. The book was really good and although the author had made a somewhat slow progression towards the climax it made it all the more dramatic. It was probably past mid night before Zuko finished reading the book. He decided that he could finish the rest of the books on some other nights.

Zuko put all the books away, blew the candle that lit his room up and lay down on his cot again. Jin said she would show him her secret practicing grounds tomorrow. Zuko wondered if he should involve himself in something so risky and sketchy when he already carried plenty of suspicious secrets with him. He shouldn't risk his and his uncle's life any further by involving himself in something so shifty. Zuko exhaled loudly. But he wanted this. This was the first time wherein he actually showed any interest towards_ anything _here in Ba Sing Se. Maybe, he wanted to be a part of this because he wants something interesting to happen. Maybe he wanted a break from all this monotony. He shrugged and stared at the small Fire Nation flag hanging on his drawer.

He was beginning to feel afraid. He was afraid because the fire that drove him to come home was slowly waning. He was beginning to feel as if the Fire Nation was nothing more than a memory. He was starting to believe that Ba Sing Se _is _his home. And that was what Zuko was most afraid. Setting down roots in the city. Zuko clutched his sheets. He will never allow that to happen. He will never allow himself to tolerate this pathetic life in Ba Sing Se. He breathed in and out after realizing that he was starting to lose his cool again.

He will be going home.

_Nothing will get in the way of that._

Somehow there was just something wrong with that statement.

For some reason he couldn't quite believe what he just told himself.

* * *

The first rays of dawn penetrated through Zuko's ratty and tattered curtains bathing his room in a warm yellow glow. He placed his hand over his face in an attempt to shield himself from the bright beams. From inside his bedroom, he could hear Iroh cheerfully singing another song. Zuko groaned. Another miserable day of work and mundanity. It won't be long before Iroh would come banging in his door, yelling at him to wake up so they could open the teashop. Pao entrusted them with the job of opening the teashop so they had to wake up earlier than most people.

Zuko lay still on his bed, the pillow pressed firmly down his head as he waited for his uncle to rouse him. He frowned in confusion after realizing that thirty minutes had gone by and his uncle had still not come to his room to stir him. He decided that perhaps the old man was still angry about their little spat last night and he was choosing the silent treatment as Zuko's punishment. He cocked his ear to listen closer. From outside he could hear Iroh cheerfully singing but the odd thing was he could hear another voice mixed in with his uncle's. Soon after the singing died down he could hear his uncle talk again. That was odd. It was as if Iroh was talking with someone else.

Zuko shrugged his shoulders and threw the pillow and covers back. He made a few stretches before putting a shirt on and scrambling outside. He might as well wake up by himself lest he awaken Pao's wrath by coming to the shop late.

Zuko partially opened the door, obscuring a fraction of their living room. Iroh was cooking rice over a miniscule iron pot, whistling cheerfully as he stirred the sticky substance. It seemed as if the memory of last night's little spat between them was already forgotten. Zuko liked that about his uncle. Whenever they had a misunderstanding or an argument, it wouldn't hold on for too long mostly because his uncle was very kind and forgiving.

"Good morning uncle," Zuko yawned as he stretched his arms.

"Good morning to you too, nephew. Aren't you going to greet our guest?" Iroh said. His uncle put the fire out completely with a stone cap and set the pot aside. He then reached out to the cupboard where he started juggling three bowls in his hands. Three bowls? Why would he need three bowls? There were only two of them. And why didn't his uncle just firebend to put the fire out? Nobody was in here but them? Right? _Right?_

Zuko pushed the sliding doors wider and was more than shocked to find Jin cheerfully squatting on their living room.

"No, thank you Mushi. I already ate," Jin said waving a hand.

Zuko's eyes bulged bigger when he saw what Jin was wearing. She was wearing something that was similar to what the Dai Li usually wore although it was sleeveless and it completely exposed her smooth and flat belly. On her hands were a set of fingerless gloves and her hair was woven into two braids.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko demanded after recovering from his initial shock. Jin looked up at him and gave him a small smile while Iroh looked extremely scandalized.

"Zuko!" He stomped his way over to Zuko and chastised him in a low voice, "Stop being rude to our guest!"

Then he turned towards Jin and said in an apologetic tone, "I apologize for my nephew's rude behavior. Li is not a morning person."

Jin laughed lightly and said in a dismissive tone, "I don't mind at all Mushi." Jin waved him a hello before motioning him to sit next to her. Zuko absentmindedly squatted next to her and watched with an aura of surrealism and utter weirdness as Iroh conversationally chatted with Jin. He handed Zuko a bowl and poured some rice porridge into it. He was not used to anything as mundane as this.

Zuko looked out the window and saw that the morning had barely begun. The sky was still a faint orange and the streets were still quiet and empty.

"What are you wearing?" Zuko asked before he could stop himself. From beside him, Iroh started nudging Zuko meaningfully. Jin raised a brow.

"Yes, my nephew is right. I do notice that you are dressed quite differently from your usual garb," Iroh commented.

Jin laughed and said, "Li will teach me how to use the swords today. I felt that I needed something much more comfortable than what I usually wore."

"Well….you look very attractive. I think my nephew very much agrees," Iroh chuckled. He then elbowed Zuko and said in a sing-song voice, "Right Li…."

Zuko suddenly felt hot and he could feel a blush creeping. He looked away in an attempt to hide away from his uncle's teasing laughs and Jin's bemused expression.

While the outfit proved to be very practical in the activity they were about to partake during that day it was also very…._distracting_. Zuko tried several times to pry his eyes away from Jin but he could not help being drawn back to her. She was always drawn back to his line of vision. What she was wearing was completely different from that ragged and loose dress that she always sported. This outfit, in Zuko's opinion, suited her more.

It showed off her slender but curvaceous figure, highlighting her flat belly and toned legs. Not that Zuko cared about that or anything. What he just meant was that it showed off her figure much more than that loose and baggy robe. But that didn't mean that he was staring or paying attention to it …..

"Li!"

Zuko's attention snapped back to focus. He could see his uncle snickering behind his bowl of rice. Jin was staring at him with a bemused and somewhat annoyed expression.

"What?"

"Were you staring?"

"No!"

"It's rude to stare you know," Jin said teasingly.

"I wasn't staring!"

"Yes you were."

"Just tell me what you wanted to say to me!"

"I was telling you that we have to stop by the forge on our way back here so I can make my own set of swords," Jin said sounding slightly peevish.

"Pao would not like me skipping another day of work. You know….I think you're on top of his hate list," Zuko said folding his arms.

"I don't think so. Try telling him where twenty-five percent of his sales would be without all the tea I bought."

"Don't you have some flowers to sell or something?"

"I'm taking a day-off," Jin dismissively said.

"Well, I'm not," Zuko frowned as he started mixing his rice porridge with his chopsticks.

"That's exactly why I chose to meet up with you here instead of at the teashop. Honestly, you're so dense sometimes," Jin said rolling her eyes. Iroh laughed quietly in his place.

"You really should stop trying to get me fired," Zuko muttered. He spooned some of the rice porridge his uncle gave him and nearly gagged. It tasted too salty and it was much too sticky for Zuko's tastes. He studied his uncle's face and discovered that Iroh was not too pleased with his own cooking. He kept on wincing and making weird faces whenever he ate a spoonful. He looked over at Jin who was trying to stifle her giggles.

"I'll take care of Pao. You really should get out more often nephew. So far you haven't done anything but work since we came to Ba Sing Se," Iroh said hastily after seeing Zuko's reluctance to skip work. He winced after taking another bite from his rice porridge. It tasted awful. Perhaps he shouldn't have pretended that it was he who cooked the dinner last night. He was a very lousy cook, he had to admit that. He was just lucky that Jin didn't eat any of his rice porridge.

"Sometimes I just can't believe you used to work in a circus. Circus people are supposed to be fun!" Jin grumbled.

Iroh looked at Jin with a quizzical expression on his face. From beside Jin, Zuko froze and made wild gestures without her knowing to stop Iroh from saying anything more.

"What circus—''

"Ha! What circus? Uncle have you forgotten already! The circus. _The circus where we used to work in_," Zuko said edgily through gritted teeth. In his seat, a look of realization dawned on Iroh's face. He looked like he was on the edge of bursting out into laughter. He clenched his stomach with his right hand in an effort to keep his giggles down.

"Of course! The circus! Where we used to work in!" Iroh said in between giggles.

"My uncle has a very short memory and attention span. I guess that just comes with the old age," Zuko said half-apologetically and half-mockingly. He was glad that he had a chance to take a jab at his usually teasing uncle.

Iroh wrinkled his nose in annoyance. Then suddenly his face melded into one of amusement. Zuko involuntarily shuddered in his seat. He knew what was coming. No doubt about it his uncle was plotting a new way to embarrass him even further.

Jin looked at Iroh in confusion. Iroh then grabbed Jin's hand and pulled her closer as he told her in a conspiratorial tone, "Did you know that my nephew used to be a clown in that circus? He was known as Mr. Poopsy Cuddly Bear Fluffykins!"

Zuko could barely contain his embarrassment and temper. What was it with his uncle and his insatiable need to embarrass him?

"So not only was he a juggler but he was also a clown named Mr. Poopsy Cuddly Bear Fluffykins?"

"Juggler….?"

"Don't listen to him! He is a dirty old, man who has nothing left to do but to spread lies and ruin my reputation!" Zuko burst out, slamming his chopsticks violently against his bowl causing a few rice grains to splatter everywhere. A few rice grains clung onto Jin's bangs. Jin snickered as she flicked them away from her hair.

Iroh completely ignored him and continued his lie about the clown ballooning it into something ten times more embarrassing.

"He used to wear this wonderful glove-like costume that had a tutu and his sleeves were full of heart candies so he could—''

"_Uncle!_"

Jin was choking with laughter while Iroh looked pleased with himself. Zuko shot Iroh a murderous glare and moved a finger across his neck signaling that he was dead meat. Iroh merely laughed louder.

Jin finally toned her laughter down. She said in a voice choked with mirth, "So are we going or not?"

Zuko unfolded his arms and said, "Pao will not like this."

"You worry too much," Jin commented.

"And with good reason," Zuko grumbled mostly to himself as he started making way back into his bedroom. Jin raised a brow and called, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? To get my swords. We can't practice without them," Zuko called back. Then in a much lighter voice he added, "Honestly, you're so dense sometimes."

He heard Jin laugh from outside.

Zuko closed the door behind him and took his swords from the table. He had removed them from the living room wall after last night. From there, he could hear his uncle and Jin talking about something. Zuko shook his head. It was amazing how socializing seemed to come so easily for his uncle. It was as if Iroh always had something to say. Zuko scowled in frustration. He sometimes still had trouble talking and relating to other people. He spent too much of his life in the palace and around the world chasing the Avatar that his social skills were not in their best condition.

He chuckled after realizing that he will be skipping work again. Although Iroh seems more pleased than outraged, he knew that Pao would probably not share the same sentiments. Zuko shrugged. Sneaking around Ba Sing Se in an attempt to secretly undermine the Dai Li was so much more fun than working in that boring teashop with Pao yelling at them from behind all day. Zuko looked down at his clothes and he thought that he probably would not be able to move as much in them.

He went to his room to change into looser trousers and a more comfortable shirt. He took his black shoes off (they were in horrible condition enough) and changed into a pair of ratty slippers, slung his Dual Dao swords on his back before going back outside. Iroh looked happy that Zuko didn't really mean what he had said last night and that he was starting to behave like a normal teenager—skipping work in favor for time with peers.

"So where will you two be practicing?" Iroh asked good-naturedly.

Zuko froze for a minute. Iroh didn't really know that Jin was a bender and from what Jin had told him, the place was supposed to be super secret. Jin however was quick on her feet and was swift enough to reply in a bright but mysterious tone, "Oh….it's a secret."

"Now where is your loyalty young lady? After all those times of me brewing you good tea you still don't trust me enough to tell where you two will be going!" Iroh said in a mock chastising tone. Then in a more suggestive tone he added, "I wonder why the two of you are so adamant in keeping it secret…."

"We're going to be practicing in one of the alleyways!" Zuko burst out in frustration. There was just no end to his uncle's teasing.

Jin seemed satisfied with Zuko's answer and she nodded in agreement. Zuko looked down and noticed for the first time that she was barefoot and that she had no shoes on. Clamped tightly in her right hand was the earthbending scroll Shu had given to her.

Iroh led them outside. The streets were still quiet and empty. Not one stall had opened.

"I'm just curious as to what excuse I will use to prevent any bloodshed in the teashop," Iroh said as he closed the door behind them.

"You could say that Li is dying out of a life-threatening sickness," Jin suggested jokingly. Iroh chuckled and shook his head, "I think to fool Pao I might need to be a little more creative. He is not as stupid as he seems."

"I don't think so uncle. Pao's head is filled with money and air. As long as you assure him that he'll be getting a truckload of cash then there won't really be a problem," Zuko muttered as he checked his swords.

"I won't keep you two waiting. The Spirits know that my nephew is getting extremely excited," Iroh said teasingly shooting a look at Zuko.

Zuko stomped his foot and growled, "Uncle!"

"All right! All right! I won't say anything anymore!" Iroh said holding his hands up. Jin gave a mid-bow and Zuko grudgingly followed suit in an attempt to avoid suspicion. They both bid Iroh goodbye one last time before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

The morning was barely stirring. Above them the sky was slowly melting into the color blue. More people were venturing outside and shops and stalls started to open although the streets were still relatively quiet. Zuko turned to look at Jin who looked slightly jittery. She kept moving her gaze from side to side and she was emitting an aura of tension.

"We came out later than I expected us to," Jin said after moments of silence.

"What are you talking about? This is like the crack of dawn!"

"Exactly why it's the ideal time for us to go there! There are little people out and about in the streets so we are unlikely to raise suspicion," Jin murmured. Then in a more annoyed tone she said, "Although since we came out later….some people are already setting their shops up so they can see us."

Zuko looked around and realized that what Jin was saying was true. Some people stopped in their tracks so stare at the two of them.

"Well…I'm not the one parading around in an outfit that screams 'Earthbender'!"

"Shut up! You know you look pretty suspicious yourself," Jin sniffed.

"If we get caught, I'll be sure to be pointing a finger at you," Zuko shot back.

"I'm not the one who was being so annoyingly stubborn about seeing my practice grounds," Jin retorted.

"Relax. And you say I'm the one wound up tight."

"I'm not the one flashing their double swords for everyone to see."

"They're called Dual Dao."

"Just follow me!" Jin sighed.

Jin grabbed Zuko's sleeve and pulled him into another dark alleyway. In a wordless motion, she beckoned him to keep up with her as she lithely ran across the twisting pathways of Ba Sing Se. They spoke very little as they moved silently about dim alleyways and Zuko amused himself by watching Jin's feet move. He was so fascinated by them; they were small but they were so lithe and quick that he sometimes couldn't keep his pace up with her.

"So…..um why aren't you wearing any shoes?" Zuko asked, finally breaking the silence. This struck to him as odd and unusual. He himself could barely stand going around this dirt-infested city in his cheap and lousy shoes. He could only imagine parading around the city _barefoot._

"I'm an earthbender remember. I like to train barefoot. I feel that it increases my connection with the earth and my power."

Zuko nodded in understanding. That was very similar to Firebenders. Back when he was in the Royal Court he would train with his chest bared out to allow as much heat to radiate through his body. Zuko frowned. Thinking about the Fire Nation and his home drew a thick and unhappy feeling back in his heart.

"Will your brothers be there?" Zuko asked just so he could discard the depressing feeling that had just settled in his chest.

"Not today. Maybe tomorrow," Jin said as she shook her head.

"Why?" Zuko asked curiously.

"Someone puked all over Ge Jiang yesterday. I'm guessing that he's too much of in a bad mood to practice. He Shen has to deliver a Swallow-Donkey to someone in the middle ring."

"Your brother is a delivery boy?"

"Well….that depends on his mood. My brothers don't have regular jobs."

"What!"

From what Zuko saw, a job was scarcity—even something to the point of rarity—in the Lower Ring. Many were unemployed and still looking for jobs. He was very surprised to see Jin being so dismissive about something as important as a job.

"They're not the most hardworking people in town so they're not exactly a boss's dream come true. They take a few odd jobs here and there whenever the bills start pouring in."

"Aren't they worried?"

"Worried about what?"

"Most people are still struggling to find employment in the city to support themselves," Zuko pointed out.

Jin merely laughed and shrugged, "Try telling that to them. They're not as concerned as everyone else. I guess it's because they know they're talented than most people so finding jobs isn't as hard for them."

Jin stopped just as they moved around a corner. They had come to a halt in front of a very gloomy and eerie square. Two run-down buildings stood opposite to each other at the side. A crumbly, wooden fence circled a portion of the square where a strange looking boulder stood in the very middle of it. Jin jumped over the fence and motioned Zuko to join her. Zuko followed her and together they made their way towards the boulder.

The boulder looked odd and misshapen but Zuko felt as if it was not a mere solid aggregate of minerals. It was something much more….important.

He shifted his gaze to where Jin was. She was rubbing her hands together and she was staring at the rock with great concentration. She handed him her earthbending scroll. Then in one swift motion she crossed her arms, moved them against each other before making a pushing motion. The Boulder moved backwards to reveal a large hole.

Jin smiled to herself. She teetered at the edge of the hole before jumping in. Zuko could barely take a hold of his interlacing feelings of shock and anxiousness. He felt a little afraid after seeing Jin jump into the hole without a second's thought. He frantically gripped the edges of the hole and called, "Are you okay?"

"Drop my scroll!" Jin's voice faintly echoed.

"What?"

"I said drop my scroll!" Jin called in a louder voice.

Zuko reluctantly dropped the earthbending scroll.

"Um….what do I do?" Zuko asked after a few moments of silence.

"I thought that it was kind of obvious. You jump in," Jin yelled impatiently.

"I am not jumping into a dark hole!"

"Why not? Scared?"

Yes, Zuko felt slightly scared. He never mentioned it to anyone else but he hated closed and stuffy places. It made him feel dizzy.

His pride got the better of him, however.

"No!" he shouted back hotly.

"Then hurry up! Someone might walk in!"

Zuko groaned, squeezed his eyes shut and after taking a deep breath he plunged into the hole. The drop towards the bottom felt longer than he expected. As soon as he felt the soft thud of the ground, he opened his eyes and was mildly surprised to discover that what lay at the bottom was much more spacious than he anticipated. In front of them stretched a crude tunnel bordered by crystal lamps. Zuko looked at Jin in curiosity.

Jin earthbended the boulder back in its place. Zuko watched as the hole started closing up, the light fading away until it finally closed completely.

"What is this place?" he asked as they entered the tunnel.

Jin smiled and said, "This used to be a coal mine. That explains why there are crystal lamps."

"What happened to it?" Zuko asked looking around. It looked forlorn and abandoned. A few broken carts lay in their way, their handles seething with rotten wood. Zuko and Jin gingerly sidestepped them.

"It just ran out of coal," Jin shrugged. After a few seconds she added, "People stopped coming here after the coal became scarce. It was soon forgotten."

"How'd you find a place like this?"

"He Shen found it. He was supposed to fix one of the two buildings you saw up there…"

"Yeah," Zuko nodded and prompted her to continue.

"He was messing around as usual when he accidentally earthbent that boulder away. I think you can guess how he figured out the rest…."

"You practice in here? But won't anyone notice from above?"

"We're so deep underground, Li! And I don't know if you've noticed but not a single person lives up there," Jin said pointing her finger upwards.

"This isn't such a good hiding place."

"That is a matter of opinion. And from my experience your opinions are always shoddy."

"I'm serious! It won't take the Dai Li much effort to open up your stupid hole—''

"So what if they get in here? This is pretty much like a maze. This tunnel branches out to everywhere. If they do get in, it's going to take them a long time to find me and by then I would have noticed—''

"This is like a maze? You could get lost in here! You might never find your way out and you'll be down here, your screams buried by layers and layers of earth—''

"I've been practicing here for months so getting lost is not really a problem—''

"And what if an earthquake happens and this all collapses on our heads? Can you imagine—''

"If that happens I can always earthbend myself out of here—''

"We shouldn't even be here! _You _should never be here in the first place. It's too dangerous for someone like you. I suggest we should go back up right now and never come back!"

"Stop hyperventilating!"

"I'm not!" Zuko argued.

"Li, everything is all right. I think you'll find that this coal mine is very interesting. It was once part of the Old Ba Sing Se," Jin said as she patted Zuko's arm. She looked completely unaffected by Zuko's heated rant and as always she continued to smile.

"The Old Ba Sing Se?" Zuko momentarily forgot his previous rant. He looked at Jin with interest.

"Before the big metropolis that we know of today, it was a small underground city carved by Earthbenders," Jin explained as they entered another tunnel to their right. She then added in a low voice, "My brothers say that this coal mine even leads to the Crystal Catacombs. I've never explored much of it though."

"I wouldn't like living here," Zuko commented.

"Why not?"

"I love the earth as much as the next person…" Zuko squirmed a little bit from that lie. "But I wouldn't want to be stuck here for the rest of my life."

Zuko shuddered to think of what would happen if he was in this situation. He would probably never see the sun or feel the power that would course through his body once the sun's rays hit him. Jin merely smiled and gestured him forward. Zuko did as she instructed and was awed by what he saw.

Laid out in front of him was an open area that stretched out for miles and miles. The Crystal lamps were hung in a more tasteful manner and it was obvious that the Earthbenders who made this place had made greater effort than the ones who made the tunnel. The rock pillars were smooth and beautifully shaped. A small stream ran in one corner making mud puddles.

Jin breathed in deeply.

"I don't know about you. But I could live in here forever."

* * *

Jin spent the first few minutes doing some stretches and meditating. Zuko positioned himself on top of a rock and watched as Jin squatted on the ground, her eyes closed and her fists balled up and placed against each other. Jin told Zuko that she'll try to master a few moves before asking him to teach her the swords first. After meditating Jin opened the scroll and started practicing.

Zuko saw Jin earthbend a couple of times but he had never seen her earthbend on a scale such as this. She had a different style to her bending; it wasn't the hard and firm moves he had often seen earthbenders do. Instead she looked like she was dancing. Zuko watched her somersault into the air, landing lightly on the ground creating ripples on the earth as she sent a low kick. She levitated rocks the size of Komodo Rhinos before separating them into millions of smaller pieces, sending them in all directions. Zuko had to duck down to avoid being hit. Jin did a few more moves before taking a short break. She headed over towards the stream, stooped down and drank a handful.

Zuko understood why Jin was so confident in her abilities that she felt no reason to fear the Dai Li. What he had just seen was something extremely spectacular. She proved to be a lot stronger than she looked. Zuko started feeling a newfound respect for her.

Jin started practicing again although she seemed to be having some trouble with this next move. She levitated an average-sized rock and sent it pummeling on the ground. Zuko felt a slight tremor. He looked at Jin who was starting to look frustrated. Beads of sweat rolled of her forehead and she was breathing in a labored manner. Zuko walked towards her and tried to avoid the debris that were falling off the rock she was levitating.

"What are you doing?"

She sent the rock crashing to the ground. Zuko felt the tremors again. It was still weak.

"I'm trying to make an earth bomb," Jin said breathlessly.

"Not much of a bomb," Zuko commented as Jin sent another rock crashing to the ground.

Jin ignored him and did the move again. The tremors the rock sent was still very weak.

"Why won't it work!" Jin cried in frustration. She threw her hands up in surrender and stomped towards the stream. She started splashing her face and drinking bigger gulps of water. Zuko stopped down to pick the scroll up. He opened it and examined it. The move didn't seem to look as complicated as Jin made it sound.

"It looks simple enough," Zuko said as he put the scroll back down. Jin didn't answer him. Zuko made his way towards her.

"I think you're doing it right. You just need more power and strength into your earthbending," Zuko said as he sat down next to her. Jin eyed him disbelievingly.

"You don't earthbend."

"What's the point you're trying to get across?"

"How would you know about stuff like these?"

"I've had a fair experience with earthbenders," Zuko shrugged.

"So you want me to put all my training into the hands of a crabby teamaker who uses double swords?"

"Dual Dao," Zuko corrected.

Jin ignored him and looked at him squarely in the eye, "I'm doing exactly what is written on the scroll."

"I didn't say that you're doing it wrong. I'm just saying that maybe you need more power in your bending."

Jin sat there in silence with her hand against her chin. It looked as if she was deep in thought in whether she should listen to Zuko or not. After what seemed like hours Jin stood up and nodded to Zuko. She beckoned him to follow her to the center.

Jin moved her arms in a circular motion, breathing in and out, until she finally halted into a stance. She looked at Zuko and nodded at him.

"Tell me what to do."

Zuko stepped back, slightly shocked. He expected her to follow his advice, not to demand that he teach her. Zuko once again felt dumb for creating such a foolish blunder. He was Firebender! How was he supposed to know about Earthbending? He examined Jin's face and saw that she was deadly serious about what she said. Panicking slightly, he scratched his head. Didn't his uncle teach him something about this? That although each race had a different style of bending, they are all ultimately similar. It was something like that. Zuko scowled internally. He should listen to his uncle more.

"Um…."

"How can I make my form stronger?" Jin asked. Zuko grabbed the scroll and looked at it again before looking at Jin. He moved towards her and adjusted her arm position.

"Your wrist needs to be leveled with your elbow," Zuko instructed as he grabbed her wrists and moved them slightly.

He moved backwards and forced Jin to stand up straighter.

"Stop slouching. You need to look and feel confident. You're smart, a great bender, strong, determined and you're pretty—''

"Aw, thanks!"

"And concentrate! Bending requires your complete attention and focus. Little things mustn't distract you," Zuko continued. He was taking tidbits of what he learned in his Firebending training. After a few seconds he demanded, "And what's it to you that I think you look pretty!"

"Sorry. Sometimes I feel as if you are so wrapped up in your anger and frustration that you become utterly devoid of human emotions."

"Do you want me to help you or not?"

"Fine! Anything else O Great One?" Jin asked sarcastically.

"Yeah. Your stance is way off. Widen it," Zuko ordered.

"My stance is fine."

"No, it's not."

Zuko used his right foot, to push Jin's left foot farther.

"You can easily be knocked down by your opponent," Zuko muttered as he continued to move it. He stepped back and looked satisfied. He nodded at Jin.

Jin began to move her arms but was quickly stopped by Zuko.

"Wait!"

"What now?" Jin asked exasperated.

"Go back to your stance."

Jin grudgingly did as she was told.

"I wouldn't have broken it if you hadn't interrupted me," Jin muttered.

"Take a deep breath before you do it."

"What?"

"It helps. Trust me. Breathe in and out, clear your mind and when you bend always keep your breath steady," Zuko said. This was a firebending technique that he learned from his uncle. He figured that it wouldn't hurt to teach Jin.

He backed away from her as he realized that Jin started bending. She moved slower than she first did. It was so silent in the coal mine that Zuko could hear Jin's steady breathing.

Breathe In and Out. In and Out. _In and Out._

In. Out. Jin made a sideways motion before turning her hands upward.

In. Out. A good chunk of the ground below them broke free.

In. Out. Jin made a pushing motion causing the dismembered piece of rock to float.

This part was the trickiest. She needed to funnel all her strength and energy into this move so the rock would be able to make a strong impact once it hits the ground.

Breath In and Out.

In and Out.

In. Out.

_In. Out. _Jin took one last breath before moving her arms downward in one quick motion. The rock fell on the ground with such a force that it made wrinkles on the ground and caused the pillars to rattle. This was no small tremor. It felt like a massive earthquake. Zuko tried to hold his ground but was thrown back because the ground shook so hard.

Dust gathered all around them. The shaking didn't stop for at least a minute. Finally when the smoke cleared, Zuko looked up. Jin's face was glistening with sweat, she looked tired and weak but a happy and satisfied smile was etched across her face. She ran towards Zuko and held her hand out. Zuko took it and stood up.

"So…..are you glad that you placed your training in the hands of a crabby teamaker?" Zuko asked his face looking smug but happy.

Jin raised a brow before saying, "Hmm….is there something you're not telling me Li?"

Zuko started panicking. Is she on to him? Was she suspicious of him being a Firebender? His fears were quickly put to rest after Jin said, "Are you sure you're not a secret bender too?"

Zuko laughed and said slyly, "Maybe….."

"You should have a career as an Earthbending Teacher."

Zuko shrugged and said with a hint of humor, "I love tea too much."

* * *

Jin insisted that Zuko teach her how to use the Dual Dao swords afterwards. Before they started Zuko told her to meditate and to do the breathing exercises he taught her so he could have time to look for a suitable substitute for the Dual Dao swords. He was at a good distance when he found another broken cart tucked away at a corner. The grounds and wall of this area felt crumblier, more shovels were strewn across the ground and a good deal of dirt piles were scattered everywhere. Zuko deduced that this particular area probably had more coal than the rest. Zuko scoured the area some more and found two good-sized twigs that were about the same size. He picked them up and decided that they would do.

He walked back to where Jin was and was slightly annoyed to find her playing with the mud instead of meditating like he asked her to. Jin sat on top of a rock her hands moving in fluid motions as she shaped the mud into the different shapes and sizes. First, she bent the mud into a fish and then she started making a weird hybrid of a man and an emu horse.

"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.

Jin ignored him and instead she bent the mud into the shape of a bird.

"I told you to meditate!" Zuko stomped his foot for added effect.

"I was getting bored."

"That's not the point. It's supposed to prepare you for the long and strenuous training we are about to do."

"What's that supposed to be?" Jin asked. She gestured towards the two sticks Zuko was holding.

"It's your swords," Zuko said as he tossed them towards her. Jin caught them and she started twirling them around both her hands.

Zuko motioned her to go forward and together they made their way towards the center. Jin stood in front of Zuko, her gaze steely and determined.

"We could start out slow."

"Whatever you say Sifu Grumpy."

"Don't call me that!"

"That was a sign of my respect towards my teacher."

"Ugh! You are so annoying sometimes!"

"How so?"

"I don't know….you just say things!"

"It's called having fun, Li. Seesh! Where have you been all your life? In a hole?"

"Yes."

There was silence. Jin stared at him blankly.

"You were supposed to laugh," Zuko sheepishly informed her.

"That was a joke? Sorry, I wasn't aware."

"Never mind! I don't expect people like you to understand my sense of humor!"

"You have one?" Jin pretended to look surprised.

"Ugh!"

"We need to work on your 'sense of humor'—'' Jin made quotation marks in the air. "But I'm glad you're trying to be funny. _Finally, _you're doing something normal people do."

"Let's just start!"

Jin nodded and prompted him to continue. Zuko made his first stance and said, "Follow me. This is the beginning stance."

Jin followed him. She moved her arms wider and held her sticks at an elbow length.

"Hold your swords firmer."

"They're sticks."

"Fine! Hold your_ pretend swords _firmer."

Jin nodded and followed his instruction.

"Your knees should be bent."

"It's already bent."

"The bend it some more."

"Fine! And stop talking to me that way!"

"You're the one who asked me to teach you."

"On how to use your double swords—''

"Dual Dao!"

"—not be the supreme king of all jerks!"

"Ugh._ Please _bend your knees more."

"Yes, sir," Jin respectfully said. She bent her knees more and nodded at Zuko to give her more instructions. She then added in a light voice, "See? It doesn't hurt to be polite."

"Eyes always forward, not downward."

"Got it," Jin looked forward and made eye contact with him. This made Zuko squirm a little. They never held eye contact with each other for this long.

Jin's eyes were big, almond shaped and for the first time he noticed that they looked hazel-ish instead of just plain green. They had a soft and happy twinkle to them but her eyes also held a deeper, darker and more determined undercurrent.

"Okay…" Zuko breathed. How should he do this? He had never sparred with a girl before. He was a little afraid. As a prince, he had always been taught to be a gentleman to women even when he was in a heated and dangerous battle with them.

"Um…"

"Li."

"Yeah?"

"Before you teach me, promise me something."

"Um….maybe?"

"Don't treat me like a girl."

"But you are a girl."

"Reall?" Jin sarcastically said.

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

Jin took a deep breath. She looked at Zuko squarely in the eye and said evenly, "I don't want you treat me any differently when we fight just because I'm a girl. Be real with me."

"Okay," Zuko said in defeat.

First, they started with the basics. Zuko taught her how to defend herself using the swords. For the first few minutes they got into an argument since Zuko wouldn't push Jin down.

"You said my stance is weak!"

"It_ is _weak!"

"Then prove it! Show me what would happen if I keep this stance up!"

"You'll be knocked down."

"Then knock me down!"

"I can't!" It came out a bit louder than Zuko meant. He looked at Jin with a pleading look in his eye. Jin's eyes softened but she still looked determined.

"Li….I can handle it," she said softly but her gaze was persistent. Zuko sighed and decided that he'll just do what she says. It seemed as if Jin was stubborn and determined enough to get what she wants. He weaved his hands through the swords, swept his foot towards her right foot and pushed her shoulders. Zuko was a little surprised to see that Jin held her stance. She wobbled a little bit and lost some of her footing but she was still standing firmly on the ground.

"I guess my stance is not so weak after all," Jin smugly said.

"I guess not," Zuko grudgingly admitted. He hated being wrong.

"But you still lost your footing so your opponent has an advantage over you. You shouldn't be so complacent," he quickly added.

"You're just made because I proved you wrong."

"I am not!" Zuko hotly said.

"Okay…okay…..what's next?"

Zuko guessed that it probably took them a total of two hours to finish their practice. Jin was intelligent and a quick study. She managed to successfully ward off Zuko's attacks for thirty minutes. By the end of the first hour she managed to hit Zuko's side (although Zuko kept insisting that he _allowed _her to). During the next hour they full-on sparred with Zuko using sticks as well to be fair. Zuko found her to be an enjoyable sparring partner.

Her body was toned and athletic but not very muscular; she still retained her feminine shape. Zuko noticed that she was quick, lithe and her movements were very smooth and calculated—a stark contrast to Zuko's heated and impulsive fighting style. He did observe however, that strength was not her area of foray but her speed and lightness more than made up for her lack of power and strength. Jin never won but she was proud to say that she only fell down once and that she had almost beaten Zuko at the last turn.

Jin sighed and flopped down on the ground her arms and legs stretched. Zuko perched on top of another boulder. He started playing with his swords.

"That was so cool!"

"You don't seem new to this," Zuko commented as he jumped off from the rock and squatted next to her.

"I don't think you've noticed but I'm not that good when it comes to power and strength…."

"Yeah," Zuko nodded prompting Jin to continue.

"I don't know. Earthbending is all about power and strength so I guess I'm a little on the slow side," Jin shrugged. Her eyes looked slightly sad.

"You looked pretty good to me," Zuko said. That was the truth. He wasn't just saying that to make her feel better. She was actually a really good bender.

"I'm a late bloomer. When my brothers were only a year old, they could crush rocks and fling them all over the place. I was three before my bending abilities became prominent. By then people thought I couldn't bend," Jin continued. Her voice still sounded happy but Zuko noticed that it was tinged with sadness.

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Zuko murmured his eyes casting downwards. He unbelievably found himself relating with her something which he first thought was impossible. Azula was a prodigy. She wasn't even a _year old _when she ignited her first flame. By the time she was eight, she was just one step away from becoming a master while Zuko still struggled with some of the more advanced moves.

"That's why I'm pretty good with weapons. I couldn't keep my pace with my brothers so I had to focus my energy on other things," Jin said. She started earthbending a small rock, making it go round and round in circles.

"Why did you say that I wouldn't like both of your brothers?" Zuko asked. He felt like he really needed to veer away from this particular area of conversation.

"Huh?"

"You once told me that I wouldn't like both of them. I get that Ge Jiang is a jerk but He Shen sounds like a nice enough guy," Zuko said. He was genuinely curious. He found it surprising to find someone else's life interesting. He usually just thought about himself and his home so he spent most of his life being self-absorbed in his own sorrows and disappointments.

"Oh! That!" Jin started giggling in her place.

"What?"

"Shen is a nut! He always wanted to be a poet and a bard so he would suddenly start breaking out into a song! You don't seem like a music person so I assumed….." Jin said in between her giggles.

"As long as he doesn't make me sing with him," Zuko shrugged. He then smiled and started laughing with her.

"What's she like?"

"Who?"

"Your sister," Jin said. She rolled over from her back to her front before propping her elbows up and resting her hands on her chin. She looked at Zuko with a curious expression on her face. Zuko clenched his jaw and balled his fists. He hated Azula and any mention of her would immediately propel him back to his bad mood

"I already told you what she's like," Zuko said evenly. He tried to keep his voice from bursting into anger.

"You only told me about the bad parts."

"Those are the _only_ parts."

"She can't be that bad. Is she pretty?"

"I guess so….."

"Of course she would be pretty! You're very handsome so I'm thinking that being good looking runs in the family," Jin smiled. Zuko blushed and tried to look away to hide it.

"Can she bend?"

Zuko froze. He was unsure with how to go about this. He knew that whether his answer was yes or no, it would still be a lie coming out from his lips. Zuko clenched his jaw. He didn't want to keep lying to her. He chose the closest answer to the truth.

"Yes, she could bend."

Jin's eyes flashed and Zuko could detect a look of sympathy hidden beneath her pupils.

"I guess that's why you know so much about earthbending. Is she any good?"

"She was a prodigy," Zuko shortly said. Sensing that Zuko wanted to stop talking about it Jin started babbling about swords and knives. However in the middle of a long explanation about long swords Zuko interrupted her.

"My dad liked her better because of it," Zuko said, his voice barely above a whisper. Jin stopped, sat up, hugged her knees and looked at him her eyes prodding him to continue.

Zuko wasn't sure what made him say that. He was revealing too much of his life as it is. He started feeling frustrated. What was wrong with him? Jin let that conversation go. Why did he have to re-ignite it? Maybe it was because he just wanted to tell someone how crummy he was feeling. Maybe he did want to let some of his pent-up frustration out.

"But it's all right. I'm okay with that," Zuko hastily said.

He didn't want to have anyone's sympathy. He did not want to hear the pity talk which he knew was coming. He quickly diverted the subject towards her.

"What's your parents like? I mean, don't they get mad that your brothers don't have proper work?" Zuko asked.

Jin suddenly looked sad. She started playing with her bangs,

"They're not here."

"What? What's the supposed to mean?"

"They're not here. They don't live here in Ba Sing Se," Jin said her voice sounding slightly impatient.

"You live here alone? With only your brothers!" Zuko could barely contain his voice.

"Yeah," Jin shrugged.

"What happened to them?"

"Huh?"

"I mean where are they? Where are your parents?" Zuko was almost afraid to ask the question. He briefly considered just letting it go but he quickly decided against it. His curiosity was getting the better of him.

Jin didn't look at him or speak to him for a long time. She looked away and she kept staring at the dark, stone wall. Zuko was afraid that he had offended her.

"You don't have to—''

"She passed way."

"What?"

"My mom….passed away," Jin said. She sounded as if she wasn't trying to make it as a big deal but Zuko could hear the sorrowful undercurrent hidden beneath her voice.

"No," Jin suddenly said before Zuko could offer his apologies.

"She didn't pass away…" Jin started squirming. It looked as if she was having some sort of internal struggle. She took a deep breath and finally regained her eye contact with Zuko.

"She's dead," she said flatly.

Zuko saw that she kept up her calm façade and straight face but he noticed that her fists had balled up.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said. The feeling of guilt was slowly creeping up to his chest.

"It's not your fault," Jin quickly said. _But it was his fault_. He knew all too well how her mom died. He knew well enough that the Fire Nation was the cause of her mother's death. Zuko hated the Fire Nation for a brief millisecond but he immediately regretted it. To think like that was so treasonous. He shouldn't be so traitorous to his own country—and over a girl no less.

"My mom died too," Zuko said quietly. Jin froze and looked at him, her eyes laden with a heavy mixture of pity and understanding.

"I'm sorry," Jin finally said.

"It's not your fault," Zuko muttered. He did want to talk about this anymore. He was eager stop this particular topic from going any further.

"How about your dad?" Zuko asked cautiously. He felt afraid that her answer would be that he had died too.

Jin's eyes darkened for a second.

"He's gone off to war," Jin said in a faraway voice. She looked away into the distance.

They sat there in complete silence for a few more moments. Jin suddenly looked at Zuko and asked, "What about your parents?"

"Hm?"

"How come you live with your uncle? I mean your dad is still alive right?"

"Yeah….he and I aren't in speaking terms," Zuko mumbled. Jin decided not to push it.

"How long have you been in Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked.

"Five months."

"_Five months!"_

"What?"

"I expected it to be longer."

"You just love making assumptions don't you?"

"Where did you live before you came here?"

Jin paused. The rock she was bending had turned into the shape of a leaf. She started at it with a glazed look in her eyes before saying in a mysterious voice, "Far, far away."

"Where's far, far away?"

"I don't want to think about it."

"Why?"

Jin sighed. She discarded the rock and stared at Zuko, her eyes gleaming with passion.

"People come here in Ba Sing Se to start over. To have a second chance at life. Once you go through those walls you leave everything you used to have behind!"

Zuko suddenly felt angry. That would mean that he had left the Fire Nation, his heritage, his honor behind. He couldn't stop the rush of passion and ager that colored his voice, "That's stupid! You can't just forget your past!"

Jin looked at him blankly. That was one of things that annoyed Zuko. He was annoyed at how Jin never seemed to be fazed by _anything. _Whenever he had any of his temperamental outbursts she would only smile making Zuko feel guilty.

Jin looked away from him and said in a sad voice, "There are just some things not worth remembering."

* * *

One of the tunnels led directly into one of the alleyways of Ba Sing Se which was conveniently only a few feet away from the marketplace. Before they went back out into the open Jin bought a pair of shoes from a random vendor passing their way and she tied her hair into a ponytail. She took the fingerless gloves out and wiped the sweat off her brow. Zuko guessed that's she was trying to look less obvious. Jin dragged Zuko to a small but cozy looking noodle shop hidden behind rows and rows of stalls and carts. As soon as they entered the shop, a small and slight man immediately handed them a bowl each before gesturing them towards a long table. The table held at least sixteen different plates filled with meats, vegetables, different kinds of noodles and some poultry. At the end of the table was a clay pot. Steam was slowly escaping its cover.

"What are we going to do?" Zuko asked cluelessly as he followed Jin to the table.

"You make your own noodles! You can pick anything from this table all for a great fee of twenty silver coins!" Jin said excitedly.

Zuko raised his good brow as he watched Jin pile food into her owl. She took eight slices of the beef, five from the pork, seven from the duck fillet, nine slices of fish, and three spoonfuls from each vegetable before dumping every kind of noodle into her bowl. When she reached the end of the table, her bowl was filled to the brim. Zuko wasn't sure how she could pour some of the soup into her bowl without spilling some of its contents. Zuko had almost forgotten how big Jin's appetite was. Zuko started filling up his own bowl. He only took a few slices from the beef, pork and duck fillet, he didn't add any vegetables to his bowl and he decided to only get the Misua noodle. After pouring the hot soup into his bowl he followed Jin into a table by the window.

Jin was already wolfing down most of her noodles.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Jin asked after realizing that Zuko had not touched his bowl.

"Oh! Right! Yeah..eat," Zuko sheepishly said. He looked down and started eating his food.

"What?"

"What?"

"You were staring again."

"Sorry….it's just that…..you eat more than most girls," Zuko muttered, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment. From the times he spent with Azula and her kooky friends he understood that girls were extremely concerned about their weight. Ty Lee ate like a rabbit, taking only small, miniscule bites of her meal while Mai never ate at all.

"So you've told me," Jin said as she ate a slice of fish. She looked completely unfazed by Zuko's comment.

"I like to eat a lot after I've finished training," Jin said. She was already half-way through her bowl while Zuko barely even started.

"Yeah I can see that….."

They continued to eat and talk at the same time. Jin finished her food earlier than Zuko and she ordered a glass of water. Zuko felt weird and happy at the same time. The experience was much too surreal for him. Ever since his banishment he had never experienced something as mundane and as ordinary as eating lunch in a restaurant with a friend. When the waiter came by to ask for the bill Jin started fumbling around her pockets for some change. Zuko however insisted that he pay for everything. They argued about it for ten minutes before finally settling everything. Zuko would pay.

Zuko smiled smugly as they slid out of their booth. He could be as determined and as stubborn as Jin if he wanted to.

They decided to spend the rest of the day looking around the city. Zuko nodded and gestured Jin to go ahead. Jin led the way and for the first time Zuko noticed a something he had not noticed before. On her back was a large bruise—the bruise was an ugly mixture of blue and purple. It's stretched upwards from the right side of her hip and the strange thing was…..it as rimmed with red at the sides. The red part looked strangely like a burn. He involuntarily flinched. A bruise on top of burn? That must be painful.

"What's that?" Zuko asked.

"Huh?" Jin looked back at him.

Zuko pointed at her bruise.

"Oh that? It's just a bruise," Jin said cheerfully. She tried to laugh it off but Zuko could detect another emotion in her voice.

"How did you get that?"

Jin shrugged and said, "I fell off the stairs."

"Really? How come it looks as if you got burned too?"

"Fine! It was an earthbending accident," Jin said with a sense of finality.

"How come it looks like you got burned to?"

"The rocks were on fire," she said flatly. Her voice reverberated with sadness but something about the way she said it made Zuko feel as if it was the end of the discussion. Zuko sensed that it was more than just a regular earthbending accident but he decided not push it. He walked towards her side and together they explored the city of Ba Sing Se.

They stopped by the forge where Jin made prints of his Dual Dao swords. Duan Jie was extremely chatty since his forge was on a slow day. They stayed there for a good thirty minutes before leaving. They spent the rest of day going around Ba Sing Se, looking through different shops and stalls and eating Lemon Tints while sitting on one of the walls. They even stopped by an armory where they had fun playing and looking through some weapons. The manager kicked them out however since they caused such a fuss within the shop.

They sat on a bench in one of the squares where they talked more about literature. Zuko impressed Jin with his newfound knowledge about literature especially about the Tale of Yan Niao and Zhan Shi. Jin treated him to something called Snow Skin which was actually a paper bag filled with assorted beans coated with sugar and cream. It was too sweet for Zuko's taste but Jin seemed to be enjoying it just fine. So as to not offend Jin, Zuko painstakingly gobbled down the beans.

As soon as the sun began to set, Jin suggested that they go home. They walked with each other as far as the marketplace before going on their separate ways. Zuko wanted to walk Jin home but she insisted that she was more than capable of walking home alone. Zuko grudgingly agreed.

As he walked back to his house a wonderful feeling rushed over him.

For that one day Zuko felt like he was Li—a boy who was normal and fairly average.

A boy who was_ almost_ happy.

…

The next day Zuko was disappointed to find that Jin wasn't waiting for him in the living room like yesterday. He half-expected that they would be practicing in the coal mines again. He sighed loudly and went about his usual routine. His uncle had bought bread from a nearby shop for their breakfast. The bread was hard and bitter, and Zuko could only force down two mouthfuls of it. After they ate their meager breakfast, Zuko went to the washroom to wash his face, comb his hair and change into a cleaner set of clothes. By the time he went outside, Iroh was already ready. They walked towards the tea shop together with Iroh filling him in about the details of yesterday.

Apparently, Iroh had told Pao that Zuko was sick with the flu and that he had to stay home the whole day since it would prove to be very unsanitary if a sick man was to serve tea. Pao was suspicious about the whole matter but he was human enough not to take any more money out of Zuko's salary. Iroh then proceeded to annoyingly inquire about what he and Jin were doing yesterday. Zuko growled.

"I taught her how to use the swords," Zuko mumbled grumpily. He still hadn't forgotten about Iroh's Mr. Poopsy Cuddly Bear Fluffykins story

"I hope you weren't too hard on her," Iroh commented as they made a turn to the right.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw her use them." Zuko couldn't hide the awe that was resonating through his voice.

"Really, now? So not only is the lovely Jin beautiful and intelligent but she is quite a fighter as well. You must be very stupid to let a girl like that get away," Iroh lightly commented.

"Uncle!" Zuko hissed.

They arrived at the teashop. Iroh unlocked the door and together they started doing their regular morning routine. Iroh started brewing some tea in the backroom while Zuko started wiping and cleaning the tables. Pao arrived late in the morning after the first batch of customers arrived. He mostly ignored Zuko, only looking at him to send him a nasty look. It took all of Zuko's self-restraint to not make any comments.

Zuko was slightly disappointed to find out that Jin had not come to the shop yet. He kept on glancing at the door but there was not one trace of her all morning. Finally, lunch time passed and she still had not come to the teashop. Iroh noticed that Zuko's mood seemed to turn sour with each passing minute.

"I'm sure she'll come," Iroh said as he helped Zuko clear a table.

Zuko slammed his fist against the table top and said snippily, "What are you talking about! I don't care if Jin doesn't show up!"

"Who says I was talking about Jin?" Iroh said sending Zuko a devilish look as he scrambled back to the backroom.

Zuko nearly broke the table in frustration.

However, late in the afternoon Jin finally showed up with Duan Jie and Shu tagging along behind her. Jin and Duan Jie both looked hot and sweaty. Zuko guessed that they must have come to the forge. Pao did not look too happy to see Jin but he quickly smoothed his sour expression after realizing that Jin brought two other customers with her.

"Hi Li!" Jin enthusiastically waved her hand. Zuko could not fight back the smile that was creeping on his face. He waved back and made his way towards the table they were sitting at.

"Li! It's very nice to see you today!" Duan Jie greeted happily. Beside him Shu nodded and said, "Hey kid."

"So what do you guys want to have?" Zuko asked. From afar Iroh noticed that Zuko sounded perkier than he did the morning.

"Just some Black tea," Shu said.

"I think I'll take a break from your uncle's concoctions for awhile. I'll have some Jasmine," Jin piped up.

Zuko looked over at Duan Jie and wrinkled his nose slightly. Duan Jie looked extremely excited and he was practically jumping from on his seat.

"What to choose? What to choose?" he muttered. He spoke at such a fast pace that Zuko had trouble understanding.

"I think you should try their green tea," Jin told him.

"But I understand that everything here is delicious," Duan Jie frowned. Shu rolled his eyes and started shaking his head.

"It is."

"Hmm…..I want to make a right choice," Duan Jie said as he rubbed his chin.

Much to Zuko's surprise he ordered every single tea in the menu. He looked at Jin and was a bit shocked to see that it didn't seem to be anything too unusual for her. Instead she nodded and said, "A wise choice."

Pao was absolutely happy at the amount of money that was soon coming and for the first time in weeks, he took it upon himself to smile at Zuko. He then lumbered over towards Jin and her friends with a fake smile plastered on his face. He started talking and complimenting Jin. Jin giggled and shared a look with Zuko. Iroh was extremely flattered and he decided that he should thank the man himself. Duan Jie and Iroh immediately hit it off very well. He left the table to go sit near the counter where he and Iroh happily chatted as he started drinking all his tea. Pao and Shu had wandered off to another section of the shop. Pao was showing off the really ugly paintings he had on his wall to Shu.

Zuko sat with Jin after realizing that she was all alone in the table.

"You've been to the forge?"

"Yeah. I went there to fix the sword that got all bent."

"Did you start working on your Dual Dao swords?" Zuko asked. He really wanted her to say that she was working on it already. He wanted another excuse to go back to the coal mines and skip work.

Jin shook her head and said, "No….I didn't. It looks tricky to make. I understand that it's only one sword but its' halved."

"Yeah, it is. That's why you have to treat it as if it's one. It's either you sue both or nothing. Each sword can't function unless you use them together. I can stop by there sometime. You know…to help you make them…."

"Do you even know how to do metallurgy?"

"I know a few things," Zuko shrugged. That was a complete and utter lie. He had never been or worked in a forge. But he figured if Jin could do it, then he was pretty sure that he'll be able to handle it.

"Will you go back there?"

"Where?"

"You know…._there_," Zuko said giving Jin a knowing look.

"Oh! Not for a long time. The water bill came up yesterday. It was pretty hefty."

"So you'll sell flowers again?"

"I don't know. All my flowers are still buds. It's all right though. Shen took a painting job somewhere in the middle ring."

"Have you been in the middle ring?"

"Yeah…..a couple of times."

"What's it like?"

"It's much cleaner than the Lower Ring that's for sure."

"I wonder how the Upper Ring looks like."

"It's okay," Jin shrugged.

"What do you mean its okay?"

"There's nothing super spectacular about it. Sometimes I wonder why people are so obsessed with getting there. I guess some want to go because of the university."

"The university? As in the Ba Sing Se University?"

"Yeah. But I don't really like that place. The professors are way too stuck up. Except for Neimu, maybe."

"I'm curious about something….."

"Hmm?"

"I mean….not to offend you or anything but how can you read?"

"Just because I live in the Lower Ring does not mean that I'm stupid!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"How about you? How does a juggler—slash—Mr. Poopsy Cuddly Bear Fluffykins learn to read in a circus?"

Zuko blushed and replied heatedly, "My uncle taught me!"

"Your uncle is a very wise man."

"I know," Zuko said. He looked away. He was ashamed to admit it but sometimes he always took his uncle's advice for granted.

"He's also a very good and kind person. You should do more to show your appreciation towards him."

"How?"

"I don't know. Surprise him. Buy him a rice cake or let him have the day off."

Zuko nodded. He really shouldn't take his uncle for granted.

"And this was given to me by a customer who really loved my tea….." They turned to look at Pao who was monopolizing the conversation with Shu. Shu looked bored out of his mind and he looked as if he was itching to escape.

"So….do you think that I'm still on Pao's hate list?" Jin slyly asked

Zuko grinned and said, "Yeah, you're still on his list."

Jin frowned.

"But you moved three places down."

* * *

They didn't return to the coal mine for days. Instead they continued to look around the city. Jin insisted that they not go back there for some time even though Zuko really wanted to. She said that it made her feel weird and jumpy. Zuko grudgingly consented.

Exploring Ba Sing Se wasn't as bad as Zuko made it sound. So as not to provoke Pao's wrath they often went around Ba Sing Se during Zuko's day off and during his lunch breaks and whenever the shop closed. Zuko now ate lunch with Jin. They often ate at a bench that sat just a few feet away from their teashop. Sometimes Zuko helped Jin sell her flowers but he discovered that he was not very good at it. He always looked grumpy and easily lost his temper with the customers.

Zuko secretly liked going around the city with Jin. He now knew how to navigate his way through the road network of Ba Sing Se. He met a lot of Jin's friends; they were mostly vendors and old people. He noticed that she didn't seem to know anyone her own age—except maybe for the boys that continually tried to flirt with her.

Zuko thought that they were all stupid. They were dumb yoyos who only liked Jin because she was just another pretty girl that was single. They don't care about the fact that she makes weapons nicely, or that she was so smart or that she was so stubborn and determined and she always held her ground. None of them cared about that but him. He liked Jin _as a friend_ not only because she was good-looking. He liked that she seemed to take everything in stride that she would only smile whenever Zuko made a temperamental outburst. He liked that she was kind, and smart and patient. All they cared about was how she looked like. Zuko eloquently pointed this out to Jin. Jin merely laughed and teased him that he was jealous.

He was absolutely not jealous. He liked her only as a friend. She could date any boy she wants. He was just telling her to be cautious because he cared about her and he didn't want her to get hurt,

"I'm not jealous!" Zuko retorted for the last time.

If he wasn't jealous than what was this weird feeling he felt in his gut?

* * *

After about three weeks from their little escapade in the coal mines, Jin came back to their house one early morning to tell him that they were going back to the coal mines. Zuko tried to be completely apathetic about the whole matter but he was boiling with excitement in the inside. Finally, something interesting. Going around and around in Ba Sing Se was fun but he missed the exhilaration he felt while he was in the coal mine. Jin was wearing the same outfit she had worn when they went there.

In her hand she was holding a ball.

"What's that?" Zuko asked as they bid Iroh goodbye. Iroh looked exceptionally pleased that Zuko was behaving more and more like a teenager. He didn't mind that Zuko was about to skip another day of work again. In fact he _encouraged_ it.

"It's a soccer ball," Jin said as she tossed it up and down.

"What's that for?"

"We'll be playing earth soccer."

"What?"

"It's like soccer. Only you use your bending to guide the ball."

"I think you've forgotten that I can't bend."

"I won't be playing it with you, obviously."

"Then who will you be playing it with?"

"My brother."

"Which one?"

"Shen."

"He Shen?"

"Yes! He Shen!"

"You mean he'll be there?"

"Yes! He wanted to meet you!"

Zuko suddenly started moving at an edgy pace. He was nervous. What if Jin's brother didn't like him? What if he thought he was a loser? What if he knew about their disastrous date and he has know permanently marked Zuko as a socially inept loser who can't be accounted for anything? What if Zuko started acting like a complete idiot around her brother? What if he made a bad impression?

Why did he even care?

"Where is he?" He started looking around

"He's already in the coal mine," Jin said as she earthbent the boulder away. She dropped the bowl before jumping in. Zuko rocked his heels back and forth at the edge of the hole. He tried to keep his nervousness at bay but he was failing miserably. He took a deep breath before plunging after Jin.

"What's wrong with you?" Jin asked as they journeyed through the tunnel.

"What if he doesn't like me?"

"Who? He Shen? Shen likes everyone," Jin said easily.

"But not everyone likes me."

"Stop exaggerating!"

"It's true!"

"Li….I already told Shen so much about you."

"What! What kinds of things did you tell him?"

"They were all good. Believe me," Jin said rolling her eyes.

"Did you tell him about our date?"

"Maybe…."

"Jin!"

"Relax! He thought it was funny!"

They were now nearing towards the open area. As they drew nearer Zuko could hear the faint sound of someone singing accompanied with the distinct sound of liuqin.

_You will never tie me down_

_I'm a free spirit, free to roam around_

_Got no master, got no home_

_I'm just happy being all alone_

Zuko froze and grabbed Jin's arm.

"Someone's in there," he whispered urgently.

Jin merely smiled and pulled him forward.

"That is my brother…..He Shen."

* * *

He Shen was quite a character. He was tall towering over Zuko by a good five inches. He had a strong but handsome face with very pronounced and masculine features such as a hard jaw, a brilliantly sculpted nose and a lean but muscular body. He had long floppy hair that was tied into a topknot although a good portion of it still covered his face. A liuqin was always slung around his back.

"Jin!" he cried once he saw Jin. His voice sounded husky.

To Zukos' shock he suddenly stood up on the rock he was sitting, grabbed his liuqin and started playing it while singing at the top of his voice.

_She's got the smile of the sun_

_But she's a little devil, that one_

_But don't take make any assumption_

_She'll cause a mighty disruption_

_She's young and she's my little sister_

_But be careful of her miss and mister_

_She'll put you in a situation_

_Get you in altercations_

_Cause she's Jin and _she's_ my sisttttteeeeerrrr!_

Shen continued to howl in the silence, his hands strumming the liuqin like crazy. He swung his head back and forth like a rock star.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, his jaw dropping.

"Don't mind him. He's like that," Jin said as they walked towards him.

"Like what?"

"He likes to break into songs all of the sudden," Jin said as she shook her brothers leg. She then shrugged, "It's his thing."

"Jin!" He Shen cried as he stopped playing his liuqin. He jumped down and enveloped her in a bear hug. He then turned to look at Zuko.

"And who might this dude be?"

"He's Li. He's the guy I was telling you about." Jin pushed Zuko forward. Zuko awkwardly held his hand out.

"Um…Hi?"

"Li….your name is Li huh?" He Shen said his eyes looking sideways. Zuko looked at him cluelessly. Suddenly He Shen took his liuqin out and he started singing another song.

_Li! Li! Li! His name is Li!_

_He likes to boogie_

"I do not!" Zuko couldn't help protesting.

_He's dating my baby sister can't you see?_

"I'm not!" Zuko said stomping his foot.

_And he's anggrrryyyyyy!_

He belted out the last tune loudly again.

Zuko grumpily crossed his arms. He Shen flicked the hair that was now covering his face away and held his hand out to Zuko.

"Pleasure to meet you man," He Shen said. Zuko warily shook it.

"So are you dating my sister?"

"We're just friends."

"But…..you came here. Friends don't bring other friends into super secret practicing grounds."

"Well we're just friends," Zuko flatly said.

He She suddenly started strumming his guitar again.

_They're just friends_

_Not anything else_

_They're just friends_

_So don't pretend or assume_

_Or else he'll—_

"Um…shall we start?" Jin asked interrupting her brother.

For the next few hours he watched He Shen and Jin play Earth Soccer. Despite the fact that her brother was a total nut job, he was an extremely good bender. He watched in awe as he sent an earth wave towards Jin to block the ball. It was amazing. Zuko wondered if he could ever play something like this with his sister.

He shuddered.

Probably not.

Azula will probably barbecue him before the game even began.

They invited him to play but he declined after realizing that it wasn't a very fair game with them earthbending the ball in all directions. They chatted for some time. He Shen often interrupted their conversations by bursting out into a song. He Shen was carefree and fun-loving. He reminded him of Jin in so many things. After a few more games of soccer (this time Zuko joined since both Jin and He Shen swore to no bending) they left.

He Shen led the way out while singing another song.

"So…..what do you think of him?" Jin asked as they walked together. She was trying to stifle her giggles.

"He's crazy….like his sister!"

"Oh shut up!" Jin said lightly slapping him in the arm.

Zuko ignored her and instead made a song composition of his own.

_We're in a dark deep tunnel in the middle of nowhere_

_I bet we're never getting out of here_

_Jin's trying to kill me by getting us lost_

"You're a terrible singer," Jin frowned interrupting him.

From afar He Shen raised his hand up in a fist pump.

"Right on brother!"

* * *

They didn't return to the coal mine for days. He Shen started coming to the teashop with Jin. As he expected he and his uncle Iroh immediately hit it off. Apparently Jin's brother was an avid tea-lover like his uncle. Jin and He Shen seemed to have a good relationship. They always bickered but they were playful spats. Zuko became more and more curious about Jin's other brother.

"Oh no….man you don't want to meet Jiang," He Shen said after Zuko mentioned him.

"Why not?"

"Well he's kind of a major jerk you know?

"He can't be that bad," Zuko said.

He Shen shook his head. He then started singing:

_His name is Ge Jiang and his mean_

_You don't wanna mess with him or getting in between_

_He'll slice you up real quick_

_You'll be in trouble, so deep, so thick_

_So whatever you do, don't you stay_

_If Ge Jiang starts stomping his way_

Jin looked at Zuko and shrugged, "If you really want to meet him, I guess you could come by tomorrow. We're going to help He Shen in his training."

Zuko nodded although he did note that Jin didn't look too happy about it.

* * *

Jin was right.

Her brother was so infuriating in so many levels.

When they first met, he looked at Zuko with an arrogant and condescending eye. He looked similar to He Shen although he looked handsomer and well-kept. His arms were more muscular; they were strong and laden with thick sinews.

For their practice, they blindfolded He Shen and both of them started attacking him. Jin said that the blindfold was supposed to increase his connection with the earth. At first everything seemed fine. Jin kept throwing earth balls at He Shen and Ge Jiang sent earth waves towards him. The entire battle got too heated however. Instead of attacking He Shen,Jin and Ge Jiang started going against each other.

Ge Jiang earthbent Jin into one of the mud puddles. Jin bent all the mud into spikes and sent them flying towards Ge Jiang. Ge Jiang dodged them easily and he started encasing himself in earth armor. Jin started doing the same.

He Shen seemed to finally realize that something was wrong. He took his blindfold off and went in between them before they could start throwing rocks at each other.

"Stop it!"

"That was uncalled for!" Ge Jiang spat.

"You're the one who pushed me into the mud puddle!" Jin snapped. Zuko never saw Jin that angry.

"All right…..I know you two are disagreeing again but there is a more mature way to solve this. A brother and a sister don't solve their problems by trying to kill each other," He Shen said as he tried to calm both Jin and Ge Jiang down.

Zuko inwardly chuckled. That's exactly how Azula and him solve _their _problems.

"We need love in the room!" He Shen declared.

And with that he started singing another song about love causing Ge Jiang to storm out of the coal mine.

* * *

For the next few days Zuko felt a peace overcome him. He didn't want to lose the feeling of tranquility he got whenever he and Jin strolled around the parks, or ate Snow Skins or whenever they eat lunch together. He didn't want to ruin.

For the first time since his banishment, he didn't want to go home.

He wanted to forget the Fire Nation.

He wanted to leave everything he once had behind the wall.

He wanted every single day to be like this.

No war. No Avatar.

He wanted to stay in Ba Sing Se.

* * *

"Your hair grew longer," Jin commented as she ruffled his hair. They were drinking tea together in the tea shop. Pao had completely given up on reprimanding Zuko for talking with Jin. Whenever Zuko stopped working to talk to her, he would merely sigh and storm into the backroom.

Zuko looked up.

It was true. His hair had grown longer. It was now floppier and his hair reached his eyebrows.

"You should wear a topknot," Jin said.

Zuko shrugged and smiled.

"I like your old one better though?"

"Huh?"

"Your old hairstyle. You looked so much cuter in it."

Zuko frowned.

"Don't worry. You still look cute in this hairstyle though," Jin laughed.

Suddenly the teashop door creaked opened and two men entered inside. Jin looked at them suspiciously. They looked too rich to be in the Lower Ring.

After drinking their fill of tea they nodded to each other and called Iroh to their table.

"So you're the genius behind this incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about you. I hope Pao pays you well," one of them said. Pao who was previously complaining in the corner noticed this and he immediately zoomed to Iroh's side.

"Good tea is its own reward," Iroh humbly said. Zuko frowned and stood up. He started cleaning other tables to get a closer look into what they were talking about.

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to have your own tea shop?" the other one said.

Zuko froze. He gripped the tray that he was holding tighter.

"My own tea shop? This is a dream come true!" Iroh said. A glazed look ran over his eyes.

Pao, realizing what these people were really up to, chose this timely moment to speak up.

"What's going on here? Are you trying to poach my tea maker?"

"Sorry Pao, that's business for you, am I right?"

"Mushi, if you stay, I will make you Assistant Manager. Wait, Senior Assistant manager."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Pao could be really stupid sometimes.

After seeing Iroh's thoughtful reaction, one of them speedily countered, "I'll provide you with a new apartment in the upper ring. The tea shop is yours to do whatever you want. Complete creative freedom."

"I even get to name the shop?"

"Of course!"

Zuko looked at Jin from the corner of his eye. She was looking at the scene unfolding before her with a strange mix of sadness and amusement.

"Uh, Senior Executive Assistant Manager!" Pao said using his last resort. Iroh however was already too taken with the idea. He thrust the tea pot into Pao's hands. Zuko involuntarily winced.

He then turned to Zuko, pure excitement radiating through his eyes, "Did you hear, nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the upper ring of the city."

"That's right young man. Your life is about to change for the better."

Zuko could not keep his temper he. He stormed out of the tea shop but not before slamming the tray unto one table and saying in a very sarcastic voice, "I'll try to contain my joy."

He exhaled loudly before leaning against the wall, his eyes glowing anger as he stared at the ground. The only thought that was running through his head was how it will be much more difficult to hang out with Jin and her brothers and Duan Jie and Shu when he was in a different part of the city. They won't be able to go to the coal mines to practice sparring with swords anymore. Zuko sighed. He will miss Duan Jie and his forge, Shu and his books, He Shen and his songs, Pao and the teashop—heck, he will even miss Ge Jiang. He looked away.

He'll miss Jin the most.

"Li?"

He looked up to find Jin. She looked concerned.

"What?"

"Congratulations! I can't believe it! You're moving into the upper ring."

"It's not a big deal."

"Of course it is! I invited your uncle to my house to celebrate."

"You did?" Zuko looked at her in surprise.

"I never got the chance to repay you for the wonderful dinner your uncle made. And since you'll be moving into the upper ring I guess we won't be seeing much of each other. Now's the best time for an invitation…."

"We could still practice in the coal mines."

"No we can't. You'll be busy with your new shop and it's a long train ride from the upper ring to here."

"So? I can make time," Zuko said hardly. Jin frowned at him. He suddenly felt guilty. She was just trying to make him feel better. They continued stand there in silence. Zuko did not speak or talk until he heard the rustling of paper. He looked up to find hundreds of flyers falling down. One of them landed on Jin's head.

Jin took it and read it out loud.

"Searching for a flying sky bison. His name is Appa, he has six legs and weighs ten tons. If you have any information, please contact Avatar Aang in the Upper Ring, 96th District, house #217."

Zuko suddenly froze. Jin stared at him with a confused look in his eye. Suddenly he jumped up and started climbing on the rooftops. Jin stared after him, a worried look in her eyes. She climbed up after him.

"Li!"

Zuko didn't answer her. When Jin arrived at the top she saw that Zuko was looking around.

"Li! What's wrong?" Jin said in an attempt to have an amiable conversation.

"Don't you get it?" Zuko demanded. He took the flyer from her hands and he started shaking it in her face.

"It means the Avatar lost his bison," Jin said. She frowned as she took the flyer back from him.

"It means that the Avatar is here," Zuko murmured. It was as if he was talking to himself.

"Of course he is! He's been here for weeks! Didn't you know?" Jin said. Zuko wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead he kept on looking around. Jin gently touched his arm

Zuko seemed to have come back to reality.

He looked at Jin with a sad but passionate look in his eyes.

"It means the Avatar is here," he said once again.

He had his goals once again. Going back home, getting his honor back, finally receiving his father's love—it was all possible once again.

He suddenly scowled as his hate for Ba Sing Se was re-ignited..

He looked at Jin.

She was just a stupid distraction from his ultimate goal.

He will be going home.

_Nothing will get in the way of that._

Zuko still couldn't shake off the feeling that that sounded so wrong.

…

_Zuko's reverting to his old ways again (dundudndun). _

_I am so sorry if this chapter was way too long! I mean, it's the longest update I have ever written. I tried to make it short but I couldn't stop myself. So now you've met Jin's two brothers. I originally wanted He Shen to be a hybrid of Sokka and Iroh but as I continued to write about him, he bubbled into a completely different character. _

_Again I would like to thank everyone who read this story and special thanks to those who reviewed it. _

_To SkorpionQueen012 and Alana C. Jones: Thanks for your reviews. It made my day._

_To ArrayePl: Thanks for your review and hmm….you might be on to something there…_

_To Densharr: Thanks for the review and yesss! Finally! Someone who agrees with me about sexism in the Avatar world! _

_Please keep sending feedback and reviews!_


	5. Part V

**Burning Bright**

_Part V_

Zuko stormed into their little apartment moments after he discovered that the Avatar was here in Ba Sing Se. He had said a quick goodbye to Jin before leaving, only looking back to catch the confused and worried expression on her face. Zuko suddenly started feeling guilty. Maybe he should have given her a proper goodbye. He will be leaving the Lower Ring soon. That might have been his last chance to talk to her. He scowled in frustration.

Why did he even care?

He was going home soon. That was all that mattered.

Zuko burst into their living room, his eyes blaring with passion. His head was now buzzing with millions of plans on how he might be able to capture the bison and use it to blackmail the Avatar. He needed to proceed through this matter with utmost caution although he also needed to be efficiently fast. Who knows how long it will take for the Avatar to discover where his bison was? He needed to be faster if he was ever going to be him to the punch.

Iroh noticed Zuko's arrival and gleefully shared his enthusiasm over their new teashop with his nephew. He was completely unaware with Zuko's foul mood.

"So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How about the Jasmine Dragon? It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it," Iroh gushed. He immediately wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper. After leaving the teashop, he had spent most of his morning writing down names.

Zuko rolled his eyes and said, "The Avatar's here in Ba Sing Se."

He held the leaflet out for Iroh to see.

"He's lost his bison," he said as Iroh scanned the paper. Iroh took the leaflet from Zuko's hand, his face melding into an unreadable expression. He didn't say a word to his nephew for a long time.

Finally, in a voice ridden with chastisement he said, "We have a chance for a new life here."

Zuko scowled and stomped his way towards the window where he stared at the many buildings and apartments crowded together. What was it with all these people spouting nonsense about starting new lives and leaving everything they once had behind? And what was his uncle implying? That they simply forget about the Fire Nation? Was he insane? You can't just forget things like that. Zuko's head started to pound in anger.

"If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose _all_ the good things that are happening for us," Iroh said in a pleading tone. He held his breath as he waited for his nephew's reply.

Zuko spun around to face Iroh, his face clearly irate. In an angry voice he said, "Good things that are happening for _you_!"

"But you cannot deny that good things are happening to you too nephew. In the past few weeks you have been the happiest I have ever seen you in since your banishment! You are making friends, you are enjoying things for the first time and you are finally acting like a normal teenager! _You are at peace Prince Zuko!"_ Iroh said his voice rising octaves higher with every word.

Zuko scowled when he heard the word 'banishment'. He looked away and heatedly said, "Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea ?"

Iroh sighed and earnestly said, "There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want for your life, and why."

Iroh kept his calm façade but he was bubbling with fury underneath. _How could his nephew be so blind?_ They had a chance to start anew, to get rid of all their past ills and now his nephew was jeopardizing all that over another stupid and impossible bid to win his father's love. Iroh sighed. Sometimes, he thought that guiding Zuko was impossible and that he could only keep his nephew from going astray for so long.

Zuko turned to look outside the window again. He said in a determined voice, "I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to you," Iroh wearily called after him as Zuko left the window.

Iroh winced when he heard Zuko slam the door in his room. He had a feeling it would take more than a few words to convince that boy.

Iroh shook his head and decided for now he'll concentrate on his new teashop.

He began to think up of another name.

"The Tea Weevil!" He frowned and shook his head in disgust. "No, that's stupid."

* * *

Zuko spent the last few days in his room making preparations for his upcoming trip. He managed to steal a map of the underground headquarters of the Dai Li and he was now planning possible locations where they might have hidden the bison. Zuko took a brush out and he started marking different rooms where the bison might be hidden.

THUD!

Zuko winced.

For the past few days his uncle has been busy with preparations of his own. He had started going to the Upper Ring to inspect their new teashop, he went to different woodshops to look at their tables and chairs and he also started creating the menu. He had tried to unsuccessfully get his nephew involved but Zuko was adamant with his plot to retrieve the bison.

THUD!

He started marking possible exit routes.

THUD!

Zuko growled. What was that stupid noise! Zuko shook his head. He has to remain focusedif he will ever pull this off. He looked at the map. He already plotted through the escape route. All he needed to do know was to figure out what to do once he actually had the bison out.

THUD!

He needed a big space where he might be able to hide that thing. Maybe he could use the coal mines. He scowled. No. That was dumb. Jin would never let him use it if she found out. She wouldn't understand.

THUD!

Maybe he should find the Avatar first then blackmail him that…He stopped that train of thought. It sounded too stupid.

THUD!

What was that noise? He can't concentrate with all this noise!

THUD!

"Would you keep it down!" Zuko yelled as he slammed his sliding doors open.

His cheeks immediately burned in embarrassment after seeing who was in their living room.

He Shen was there, the liuqin slung on his back as always, his hair falling all over his face despite having a topknot. He was trying to carry their kitchen table but he would often stagger from the weight. Every so often he would accidentally drop the table causing it to make a thudding noise. Iroh stood in the corner, calmly sipping a steaming cup of tea.

And beside his uncle stood Jin.

Zuko suddenly felt a sick feeling in his stomach. He was a little afraid to face her after the harried and rude way he left her. He carefully watched her reaction and was relieved to find out that she was not mad at him. She flashed him a bright smile. Zuko sighed. Of course. She _never _got angry. Sometimes he found that frustrating. It made him feel guilty even when he didn't really do anything wrong.

"Hey it's Li, man! Hi dude!" Shen started waving his hand enthusiastically. Zuko returned a reluctant wave.

"Nephew! It's nice of you to join us," Iroh jovially said as He Shen successfully managed to lug the table past their door. He then gently dropped it making a slight noise before resting his elbow. His breathing was short and labored.

"Sorry about the noise, man. Your tables are heavy," He Shen said as he breathed in and out.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko demanded before he could stop himself.

Jin still kept her bright smile on but Iroh's face fell. He glared at his nephew and quietly chastised, "Li! Stop being rude to our guests!"

"Your uncle gave He Shen a job," Jin smiled. Despite his foul mood, Zuko couldn't stop himself from smiling back at her.

"So where have you been man?" He Shen piped up from his place.

"Huh?"

"I mean I haven't seen you around anymore. Did you and my sister break up?" He She playfully asked.

Jin glared at her brother while Zuko desperately tried to stop himself from bursting out another unnecessary and offensive comment. Iroh seemed to notice this because he immediately started explain He Shen and Jin's presence in their apartment.

"Jin's wonderful brother has agreed to help us bring all our furniture to the Upper Ring. And without charge too!" Iroh cheerfully told him.

"Oh."

"And since you have decided to lock yourself up in your room for the past few days, the lovely miss Jin was kind enough to accompany me as I searched for various ornaments to decorate our shop and apartment," Iroh said putting emphasis on the fact that he had not come out of his room for days. Zuko glared at his uncle but Iroh merely shrugged.

"You should have seen your new apartment Li! It looks so beautiful!" Jin exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's fully loaded!" He Shen said as he went down the stairs. Zuko could hear the loud, thudding noises the table was making as He Shen carried the table downstairs.

"You've been to our new apartment?" Zuko asked in surprise. His uncle did invite him to go there yesterday but he had declined in favor of going to the marketplace to buy materials he might need for his venture to capture the bison.

"Yeah, your uncle showed us around yesterday," Jin said.

"It was my pleasure," Iroh said as he bowed his head. He Shen came back to their living room where he started carrying all their kitchen wares. He piled their pots and pans into his hands.

"And guess what nephew?"

"What?" Zuko asked through gritted teeth. He wondered if his uncle was about to make him feel even guiltier for not helping him with the teashop.

"Jin has also invited us to her house for lunch!" Iroh said.

He Shen jerked his head up and nearly dropped everything he was carrying.

"She did what?"

"I invited them over to our house for dinner," Jin informed him as she rolled her eyes.

"Are you trying to poison them?" He Shen demanded. Zuko thought that he was joking but by the tone and inflection of his voice—he sounded extremely serious.

"Jin is the worst cook ever! _Ever!_" He Shen said. He made wild gestures with his free hand.

Iroh chuckled and he lightly commented, "I'm sure that you are exaggerating—''

"I'm not making this up, man! She either undercooks or overcooks everything!" He Shen said his voice becoming more and more hysterical.

Jin frowned and said, "That's not true—''

"Once she tried to cook fish and when she served it to us it was still _moving_! I swear it was swimming in the sauce!"

Jin weakly argued, "It didn't move! It sort of slipped from the sauce—''

"And did you know that she burned water? I'm serious! She burned water," He Shen said.

Jin lightly slapped his arm.

"Stop scaring Li and Mushi!" she said as He Shen gave a mock flinch.

"Rest assured, Jin, I am not frightened in the least bit," Iroh said good-naturedly as he patted Jin's back. He then added, "I am sure that you are a wonderful cook."

He Shen made a gagging noise.

This made Iroh laugh.

Jin and He Shen cheerfully laughed with Iroh.

Zuko watched them as they continued to laugh, their eyes twinkling as they invited Zuko to join their mirth. He watched Jin and He Shen laugh. They had the same kind of laughter. Outrageous but at the same time it wasn't too flamboyant. Jin and He Shen were alike in so many ways but they were also very different. They were both carefree, fun-loving and nothing ever seems to shake them. They handled everything with a smile. But Jin seemed more grounded and determined while He Shen was more aloof. Jin took her responsibilities seriously while He Shen's main responsibility was to sing and "spread joy and happiness."

He thought about Azula and him and how both of them were eerily similar but so different at the same time. They were both domineering and arrogant and they always need to get what they want. But at the same time Azula was so much better than him in many ways which was why they were so different. Azula always got what she wanted. He had to fight to get anything done his way. He involuntarily clenched his jaw.

"Hey would you mind being the one to bring all this stuff to the Upper Ring today? Mr. Yong just called up. Says he needs something done," He Shen said. Jin took a few of the pots and ladles from his hand.

"Yeah, it's fine with me," Jin said as He Shen started making his way downstairs. Jin then turned to look at Zuko.

"Maybe you would like to come with me Li? You'll be able to see your new apartment," Jin said.

Zuko, who was deep in thought, jerked his head up after realizing that Jin was talking to him. His uncle however decided that he would answer for Zuko. _Again. _He wrapped a hand around Zuko's shoulders and said, "He'd love to!"

Zuko frowned and nodded.

He has a voice, you know.

He didn't need his uncle to answer for him all the time.

And truth to be told he would have yes with or without his uncle's prodding.

…

Zuko wondered how they will able to transport all of their things to the Upper Ring but his question was quickly answered when he saw what was waiting for them downstairs. An emu-horse that was fastened to a cart stood waiting on a corner. Most of their things were neatly piled up in the back. He Shen took the kitchen wares from Jin's hands where he carefully arranged them. He then bid the two of them goodbye, singing a song loudly as he disappeared around the corner.

For some reason Jin looked excited. She hopped onto the cart seat and patted the space beside her, motioning Zuko to sit with her. Zuko climbed onto the cart and sat with her.

"I hope you will like your new apartment. I chose most of its decorations," Jin said as she tried to keep the rearing emu-horse at bay.

"I'm sure you did great," Zuko assured her. He tried to help her calm the emu-horse. "Is this yours?"

Jin looked up and said, "What?"

"The emu-horse."

"Oh no! Your uncle rented it. His name is Jasmine," Jin said. She finally sat back as the emu-horse stopped kicking around. She gave a small tug at the reins, sending the emu-horse forward.

The emu-horse clopped its way to the Upper ring.

"Jasmine?"

"What?" Jin giggled.

"You said it was a 'he'," Zuko stated.

"I told your uncle that but he was adamant in keeping the name. He said it's named after your new teashop," Jin said. They passed through the crowd-filled streets of Ba Sing Se. Everyone parted once their cart and emu-horse passed through. He noticed that Jin had a slight difficulty navigating through the crowds of people and through the many stalls parked in the road.

"He has a name already?" Zuko asked in surprise. When he last left his uncle, Iroh was still busy thinking up of different names.

"Your new teashop is named The Jasmine Dragon. I think that it's a really good name," Jin said as they turned around the corner.

"Yeah….I guess so. It's dramatic and poetic and stuff, right?" Zuko mumbled.

"Me and He Shen came up with names too. But they were either stupid and or just plain silly," Jin said.

They were both talking amiably but Zuko noticed that there was much tenser and deeper undercurrent in their conversation. It was as if the two of them knew what they really wanted to talk about but they couldn't bring themselves to start the conversation up. They were pretending that everything was fine and that nothing is different. They were pretending as if it was back to those times where he was just Li—the boy who liked to go around Ba Sing Se, the boy who liked to eat Snow skins, the boy who didn't care about anything else in the world.

But he wasn't Li anymore.

He was Zuko, once again. The boy who had his goals and who had his destiny to fulfill. He was so deep in his thought that he didn't notice Jin looking at him with an odd look.

"I missed you," Jin commented.

"Huh?"

"You've been gone for days. Your uncle wouldn't tell me what you were doing. He just keeps telling me that you were busy. I missed those times where we would just hang around Ba Sing Se."

"I missed those times too," Zuko admitted. He felt so peaceful during the days where he had no other concerns than brewing tea and cleaning up tables. He missed all those times where he was with a person who didn't know anything about his miserable life. He missed all those times where no one was trying to kill him in his sleep. He wanted to keep those times with him.

But he can't. He had a destiny to fulfill.

"Li?"

"Huh?"

Zuko looked at Jin.

"How are you?" she asked. Her voice sounded light and conversational but Zuko saw that she looked extremely concerned.

"Fine," he muttered. He avoided looking at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I said I'm fine!" Zuko snapped. Jin moved back but she held her gaze defiantly.

"Okay…okay….I get it. I'm just….worried."

"You don't need to be worried," Zuko grumpily said. Why did Jin always have a way with getting under his skin? He stared at her haplessly. He just wished that she would stop. He wished she would stop caring about him so much. It was so stupid. She barely even knew him.

"I think I need to be. You're so…..differently lately," Jin persistently said. Zuko frowned at her.

"How so?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know," Jin said as she looked away.

He wanted her to drop it. He just didn't want to talk about it right now. Jin however, was being annoyingly stubborn and determined as usual.

"The new teashop isn't anything exciting to me at all. I hate tea," Zuko sighed defeated. That was _true._ He did hate tea and that stupid new shop.

"What are you talking about? _It's extremely exciting!_ You and Mushi are moving into the Upper Ring! Most people wait for their whole lives to get a chance like this," Jin cheerfully said.

"I don't care. I want to have more things in life than living in the Upper Ring and having a nice apartment!" Zuko grumpily said.

"But what more could you ask for?" Jin asked. She looked at him seriously.

"You wouldn't understand," Zuko said in a hard voice. He looked away from her.

Jin chose to ignore the fact that Zuko had just been extremely rude and cold to her. She continued in a firmer voice, "I know what it's like to start all over again. To leave everything you have once known and to just begin from scratch. It's tiring. It's draining. _But it's also uplifting_. Li, you and your uncle have almost done it. You're on your way to rebuilding your lives again."

Zuko felt guilty. He remembered that Jin has been here for five months already and she was still probably living in the same shoddy apartment with lousy plumbing systems and pouring bills. And to top it all off, Jin had no else left but her brothers.

Something about the way she said that made him wonder what her old life was like. That made him realize that aside from knowing that she had no parents and two brothers, he really didn't know anything else about her.

"All that's left for you to do is to shed all your old skin and embrace the new life that you are about to have," Jin said. She gingerly touched Zuko's arm. Zuko sighed. It was much more complicated than that. He didn't want this kind of life. He wanted to return to the Fire Nation and fulfill his destiny as the heir to the throne. He wanted to fulfill his destiny of capturing the Avatar.

"It's not that easy," Zuko muttered.

"Oh…because brewing tea is so _hard_," Jin sarcastically said.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" He turned to look at her and in a voice colored with passion he said, "Don't you want more out of your life than serving tea? Than cleaning tables! Than getting a stupid apartment?"

Zuko tired to breathe in and out to calm himself down but then he realized that it wasn't working. He was becoming more and more worked up.

Jin gave him a blank look.

"It doesn't matter what kind job or what kind of place I live in. All I want for my life is that I will be _happy_," Jin said. She looked completely unaffected by Zuko's heated outburst.

"That's stupid. The problem with you is that you never take things seriously," Zuko muttered once he calmed down. They were now approaching the gate for the middle ring.

"And the problem with _you_ is that you take things_ too_ seriously," Jin shot back as a guard halted them.

It took them twenty minutes to get everything processed. The guard was being extremely suspicious about the whole matter and he kept demanding many document papers from Jin. Jin showed him a personal letter from his uncle stating her purpose of going into the Upper Ring, official documents about the teashop and the lease of Zuko and Iroh's new apartment. After examining all those papers he began to question Jin on many different things. Jin handled all the questions with poise and assuredness.

As soon as the guard let them threw Jin immediately began to complain, "You would think that I have some sort of contagious disease."

"I never knew security here was so tough," Zuko commented as Jin steered them along the wide roads of the middle ring.

Zuko looked around and was amazed to see the difference between the Middle Ring and the Lower Ring. The buildings of this Ring are much larger than those of the Lower Ring and the roofs were tiled green. The houses were spaced better than the Lower Ring and there was an abundance of flowers and trees. He looked at Jin and saw that she was still annoyed with their encounter with the guard.

"It's so stupid how they block off all the poor in one area. Earth Kingdom culture is so ridiculous at times," she grumbled.

"Every kind of culture is ridiculous at times," Zuko sighed as he thought about his own nation. He had to admit that even their governmental system was flawed and often unjust.

"So what kind of instrument do you play?" Zuko asked before Jin could start asking him questions about his family and the war and why he was acting so weird.

"You're very unfair, you know."

"I just asked you question."

"We always talk about _me. _When is the time where we talk about _you?_"

"I told you I'm not very interesting."

"You always say that," Jin frowned. The emu-horse clopped its way over the bridge.

"You're very unfair too. I already told you about how I play the Tsungi Horn!" Zuko said.

"Well, I'm hardly interesting too," Jin pointed out.

"You're just saying that. I bet you also play something embarrassing."

Jin sighed and said defeated, "I play lots of instruments. If you have lived with He Shen for the past sixteen years then I'm pretty sure you'd be crazy if you don't learn _any _sort of instrument."

"I can only imagine," Zuko chuckled.

They had more frivolous discussions as they neared the gate to the Upper Ring. Their ridiculous and often silly conversations took his mind off things. They talked about the University, they maligned and made fun of Earth Kingdom officials and they bickered about pointless matters. Zuko felt the pressure of capturing the bison easing off him a little.

They soon reached the gate to the Upper Ring. Security was tighter there. Jin and Zuko had to step out of the cart to be taken into a little shed for questioning. The guard there was tiny and stuck-up looking and he looked at Jin's shabby clothing with a condescending eye. That irritated Zuko but he immediately cooled down once he saw how Jin handled the whole ordeal. Instead of her usual bright voice, she answered the guard's questions with a cool voice and a very apathetic expression. She stood up straight and tall and if it weren't for the fact that the hem of her dress was frayed and choppy Zuko might've thought that she was a noble.

The guard let them go as soon as Jin answered all his questions (with very minimal help from Zuko). They went back to the cart where Jin continued to complain as she drove him towards their new apartment.

They didn't talk about his weird behavior or the fact that he was twice as cranky as he normally was anymore although Zuko noticed that Jin kept on looking at him with a meaningful glance as if she wanted the conversation to head that way again. However, whenever Zuko noticed that the conversation was heading in that particular direction he would immediately cut it by asking her some stupid question or making a ridiculous comment. Finally, when Zuko interrupted her for the fifth time, she gave up completely and they talked about nothing else but teashops and shabby services of Earth Kingdom guards.

They finally arrived at their new apartment where Jin insisted that she show him around for awhile before they started piling all their stuff into the apartment. Jin proudly showed him around and Zuko had to admit that he was impressed by how it looked. It was bigger and more spacious than their last apartment. Jin told him that she picked out most of the paintings that hung on the wall and that the ornately carved table sitting in the living room was a result of her choosing. She told him that his uncle chose the paint color but she chose the rugs and carpets which were currently rolled up in a corner. She then led him to his uncle's quarters.

His uncle's room looked cozy and snug, with a cot lying in one corner. A little dresser was on the right side while a small round table stood in the center.

"What's that?" Zuko asked as he pointed to the table.

"It's a tea table," Jin pleasantly explained to him.

"A what?"

"Your uncle wanted a tea table. Do you like it? I chose that too," Jin cheerfully said.

"Uncle has completely gone insane."

"What are you talking about? I think that it's a great idea."

"Ugh! And how much did it cost?"

"It was a steal! Worth about a five hundred silver coins!"

"What! What kind of person would spend all that money on a _tea table_?" Zuko said flabbergasted.

"Well, I would," Jin airily said as they exited his uncle's room.

"What's the purpose of that anyway?"

"It's so you can appreciate the beauty of a good cup of tea even in the comfort and confines of your room," Jin chirped.

"You and uncle have gone completely tea-crazy!"

Jin ignored him and led him to his room. Zuko was a bit disappointed to discover that it wasn't as furnished as his uncle's. Except for the cot lying on the right side, it was extremely bare.

"How come it's so….empty?"

Jin looked up at him and said, "Your uncle wanted me to pick the things out for you."

"And all you got for me was a cot?"

"I didn't want to pick stuff up only to find out that you totally hate it."

"Well….that's stupid. I'd like anything you would pick."

"That's not true. We have completely different tastes," Jin scoffed.

"I'll be the judge of that once I see your room during the dinner you invited us in," Zuko said.

They then went back downstairs to get all of Zuko's and his uncle's stuff. He helped Jin carry the table and they spent ten minutes trying to figure out the best place to put it. Jin was very indecisive as to where to position the table. Zuko pretended to look impatient and annoyed but the silly expression on his face gave the whole thing away.

When they finished placing the kitchen wares on their designated areas and positioning the rest of the furniture, Jin and Zuko decided to take advantage of the fact that they were in the Upper Ring. They explored the ring some more before going back to the Lower Ring.

When Zuko returned to their tiny and cramped apartment, he had a stupid grin on his face.

* * *

Zuko spent most of the night packing his clothes up. Iroh told him that they will be moving into the Upper Ring in three days time. That only made him more irritated and nervous because it meant that the time for capturing the Avatar's bison was drawing nearer. He still hadn't figured out what to do with the bison once he had it outside the lake but he decided that he'll just think of something once the ordeal was all over.

His uncle still continued to try to dissuade him of the mission he was about to partake but Zuko was very adamant in his quest to pursue the Avatar's bison.

Iroh sat in his chair and looked at his nephew's room with a worried ear. He had to stop Zuko from undertaking this. _He just had to._ But how could he? Time was running short. He knew that by the time they moved into the Upper Ring, Zuko would be long gone on another wild goose chase. So far, nothing he said managed to convince Zuko not to push through with it. Iroh rubbed his chin. How could he stop Zuko?

Iroh sighed and decided that maybe if he got more interested in the teashop, he would stop this fool's errand of capturing the bison.

"Zuko!" he called out.

"What! I'm packing!" Zuko yelled back from the confines of his room.

Iroh sighed and said, "I am going to go around the city tomorrow to look for suppliers and perhaps advertisers! I would really like for you to come!"

"I have to do something!"

"But nephew! Surely you will not leave your frail, old uncle alone to walk in a big, dangerous city in this unbearable heat!" Iroh said in a mock-disappointed tone.

"I'm sure you will make it out alive uncle," Zuko wearily called back.

Iroh sighed defeated. Sometimes, there was just no reasoning with that boy.

"Fine! I guess I can ask Jin to help me again!" Iroh grumpily said.

Suddenly there was a silence. Iroh waited for his nephew's reply.

To his surprise Zuko opened the door slightly and said, "Jin will be there?"

It was as if a light bulb flashed in Iroh's head.

He suddenly knew how to stop Zuko from pursuing this pointless and not to mention extremely risky mission.

With a devious smile, he coyly said, "Yes. I told her how horrible of a nephew you were. Leaving your uncle to fend for himself. So she told me that she'll do whatever she can to help."

"What's with you spending so much time with her anyway?"

"I don't have any idea what you are implying."

"You're a weird, old man! You leave Jin alone!"

"Would you calm down nephew? You are so paranoid these days! This will be the last three days we will see her and she has been a wonderful presence. I just want to give her the proper goodbye she deserves."

"We can still meet up with her."

"But not in a long time. I am sure you saw how difficult it is to move from one ring to another in this city."

"Yeah but—''

"I know that you are frustrated that you will not see your lady friend again—''

"I don't know what you are talking about uncle! I don't care if I see her or not!" Zuko heatedly snapped before storming back into his room.

Iroh sighed disappointed.

He guessed that his plan didn't work after all.

He was losing his touch.

Suddenly, Zuko cracked his door open again.

In a sheepish tone he mumbled, "And uncle…..I _will _be going with you tomorrow."

Iroh smiled as he sipped his tea.

He wasn't called one of the greatest generals of the Fire Nation for nothing.

…

Iroh was completely shocked to find Zuko leaning against the counter, a slice of bread in his hand the next morning. For the past few days, the boy had not come out of his room and would only come out for a quick bite. Iroh was now used to spending breakfast, lunch and dinner alone. The silence of his mealtimes was often spent on thinking schemes and ways to prevent Zuko from pushing through with his mission of capturing the bison.

Zuko bit off a piece of the bread.

"I bought some bread for breakfast," Zuko flatly said. He held out a piece of bread.

"You're up early," Iroh commented as he took the bread.

"Well what do you expect? If you want to catch up with the suppliers and advertisers before the rush hour starts, then we have to be up early," Zuko irately said.

"But you hate waking up early," Iroh said as he looked at Zuko with a suspicious eye.

"I had to buy the bread," Zuko muttered. He suddenly looked nervous. He avoided Iroh's gaze.

Iroh ate a bite out of the bread and was shocked to find that it wasn't the hard and crusty bread they were used too. It was soft and fluffy which means that Zuko bought the more expensive kind of bread. He frowned. His nephew would never spend money on something like this.

"This Madame Ying's bread."

"So?" Zuko asked edgily.

"_So? _Nephew this is worth ten silver coins a loaf!"

"Don't worry. The money came out of my own wallet," Zuko muttered.

"But you told me you would never spend your money on something as pointless as this!" Iroh exclaimed.

Zuko looked down and mumbled something incomprehensible. Iroh craned his ear to hear more.

"What? I can't hear you."

"…."

"What was that?" Iroh asked.

"Fine! It's cause you told me Jin would be here for breakfast! You don't expect me to just let you feed her stale bread?" Zuko burst out. Their kitchen counter nearly burst out in flames from his outburst.

Iroh then threw his head back and laughed.

He knew that his nephew liked Jin (although he took great pains to deny it) but he never knew that Zuko was in _this _deep. He knew that if he played his cards right today, he might just be able to stop Zuko from undertaking this pointless mission.

Iroh raised a brow.

He just couldn't help poking fun at his nephew for one last time.

"And for your information nephew, I wasn't going to feed her stale bread," Iroh said as he tried to keep a hold of his giggles.

"What?"

"I bought some rice cakes yesterday."

Iroh's laughter was drowned out by Zuko's frustrated scowl.

* * *

Iroh was sure to keep out of Zuko and Jin's way once they started looking for suppliers. Iroh usually hung in the back and watched from a distance as Zuko and Jin talked and walked together. They often got distracted from the main purpose of their trip but Iroh didn't mind as much. From his observations, the only thing that was holding Zuko back from this dumb trip was…..Jin.

Although it looked as if Zuko didn't know it himself yet.

His nephew had unknowingly set a bit of roots in this city. He knew that Zuko was having second thoughts about this mainly because as always, the boy does not have a proper plan and he also feels reluctant to just go and leave Jin and be the Fire Prince again.

Zuko can deny it all he wants but Iroh knew that his nephew actually enjoyed spending time with a normal person.

Iroh watched as a teenager from a nearby stall suddenly approached the two of them.

Iroh couldn't stop himself from smiling.

He knew all too well who this boy was.

His name was Jiao and he sold fish. They boy came from one of the more prominent families in the lower Ring. He was tall, good-looking, and he had more money than most people here in the Lower Ring and he took every opportunity to flaunt it—in front of Jin. The many vendors in the marketplace had informed Iroh of Jiao's never ending crush of Jin although much to Jiao's misfortune—his affection was not returned. Jin didn't seem to find him the least bit attractive.

Zuko still hadn't met Jiao yet.

Iroh chuckled as he watched from the corner.

He was very curious to see Zuko's reaction.

* * *

"Hi Jin!" the fish-vendor said as he confidently strode towards her.

Zuko wrinkled his nose at the boy. He looked arrogant and he kept staring at Jin with a flirtatious eye. Zuko immediately disliked him.

"Hi Jiao," Jin flatly replied. She didn't seem too eager to go in a conversation with him.

"So how are you? I didn't see much of you in town," Jiao said as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

Jin quickly removed his arm from her shoulders and stepped back.

"Oh I've been around…." Jin said. She rolled her eyes as he flashed her a cheesy grin.

Jiao made a step forward but Zuko accidentally tripped him causing him to fall flat on his face. Jin laughed.

_Accidentally._

It wasn't on purpose.

Jiao growled and grumpily stood up. He started dusting his clothes off.

"Who's he?" he asked pointing a thumb at Zuko.

Jin immediately looked excited. She eagerly grabbed Zuko's hand and said, "His name is Li. He's my friend. Li….this is…."

Jin sighed and said in a flat voice, "Jiao."

Jiao smirked and held his hand out, "Pleased to meet you Ling."

"It's Li," Zuko flatly corrected.

"Whatever. So….how long have you and Jin known each other?" Jiao glared at him in what he must've thought as his most threatening gaze.

Zuko scoffed.

He's seen worse.

"I don't know. A few weeks," he shrugged.

Jiao however had completely ignored Zuko and was now focusing his attention on Jin.

Zuko clenched his jaw.

"So…the Spring Festival is up and I've heard that you still don't have date…." Jiao smirked.

Jin stepped back and said, "That's right. But I don't plan on going. I have to help my brother with Mr. Yong's apartment. He needs it remodeled."

"And as it turns out….I have no date too!" Jiao said completely ignoring what Jin had just told him.

Zuko tried to keep his temper in check.

All he had to do was calm down.

Breathe in and out. In and out.

Ugh, that wasn't working.

"I'm sure you could find one….eventually," Jin said.

"And I was thinking—''

"Nephew! Jin! There you are!"

Jin looked relived. It was Iroh. Iroh immediately started talking about an advertising shop that was just down the street before gently chastising them for straying too far. He then informed the annoyed Jiao that they had to get going. He then grabbed Zuko by his arms and dragged him away before he could do something horrible to that boy. Iroh could practically see the smoke spouting off Zuko's ears.

Still, he couldn't help teasing his nephew a little bit more.

"Jealous, Prince Zuko?" Iroh whispered.

"I am not!" Zuko snapped.

Suddenly, they heard a loud scream. Iroh, Jin and Zuko looked back to find Jiao yelping and jumping up and down as his clothes mysteriously caught on fire.

Zuko smiled…..satisfied.

* * *

Jin and Zuko grew bored after waiting for Iroh to finish his conversation with the advertiser. The two of them suddenly started talking about tea and Pai Sho and there was only so much more of Zuko's patience before he would snap. He gestured Jin to leave and together they silently stole out of the advertiser's shop. Zuko and Jin bought some fish crackers before climbing unto one of the lower walls of the ring. They sat there together and ate the fish crackers as they watched the stream of people passing by.

Zuko realized that he had two more days before he would go capture the bison.

Two more days before regaining his honor.

Two more days before capturing the Avatar.

Two more days before going home.

Two more days before leaving Ba Sing Se forever.

Two more days before leaving Jin.

He suddenly felt sad for some unknown reason. That's right. He won't be seeing her again. As the years go by he will probably never see her again and she will probably forget about him and she will get married to some peasant like Jiao who does not really care about her and she will live happily ever after.

Zuko frowned.

Why was he even thinking this?

He was going home. He shouldn't even be thinking of stuff like this.

Why did he even care?

Because you like her, a small voice from the back of his head told him.

Zuko shook his head.

No, he didn't.

Actually, he did like her…..as a friend.

Nope, you like_ like _her, the voice told him.

Zuko frowned.

The voice also sounded annoyingly like his uncle.

Maybe he should just give up on capturing the bison.

No, that wasn't an option. Zuko internally cursed himself for even considering that.

He will capture the Avatar's bison and get his honor back.

"So don't forget that you'll be going to my apartment for lunch the day before you leave for the Upper Ring," Jin reminded him, interrupting his line of thought.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Sure. What's it like?"

"Hmm?"

"Your apartment."

"It's really small," Jin said. She started kicking her legs in the air.

"Small? Is it smaller than me and my uncle's?"

"Very. It's not much but….well…I just feel lucky that I'm not homeless."

Zuko snorted. How could someone be so obscenely optimistic?

"What?" Jin demanded

"You are so easy-going. Do you ever get bothered? By anything? At all?" She had to be fazed by something. Honestly, how could she be so happy all the time?

"Well….I get bothered by the war."

That made Zuko feel guilty.

"The war?"

"Yeah….it's so unfair how many lives are ruined by it," she muttered.

"Everyone gets bothered by the war," Zuko said looking off into the distance. Everyone including him.

"But it's all going to end soon," Jin said cheerfully.

"What makes you say so?" Zuko said. The war was never going to end as far as he was concerned. The Fire Nation was at the winning end and Sozin's Comet was approaching. The Avatar was about to be captured (by him hopefully) and it would only be a matter of time before Ba Sing Se fell.

"The Avatar! He will stop the Fire Nation eventually," Jin said determinedly.

"But how do you know that he won't fail?"

"Why are you so pessimistic?"

"And why are you so optimistic? You shouldn't get yourself worked up over the Avatar. He might trip on your expectations and you will be left disappointed!"

"Why are you always assuming the worse?"

"I don't want to get my hopes up over nothing," Zuko frowned.

Actually, he didn't want _her _to get her hopes up over nothing. There was just no way the Avatar could save the world even if he managed to escape from Zuko's grasp. _Again. _He still had a long way to go from mastering all elements and from the looks of it he was running out of time.

"So your saying that you don't believe in the Avatar?"

"I'm just skeptical that he could save the world," Zuko shrugged. Jin didn't answer him. They continued to watch the passer-bys in silence.

Finally Zuko made another attempt at a decent conversation.

"Did you get a chance to finish your Dual Dao swords?"

Jin sighed and looked at him.

She said in a sad voice, "Unfortunately not. I decided to just scrap that."

"Why?" Zuko demanded.

"I don't know. It's pointless, really. I mean who's going to teach me now that you're in the Upper Ring," Jin said.

Zuko suddenly had an idea.

* * *

Before going to sleep he hurried over to Duan Jie's forge. He felt happy to find that he hadn't closed yet. Duan Jie looked happy to see him.

"Li! It's so nice to see you! But what are you doing in this hour? We are just closing up," Duna Jie said.

"I want you to teach me how to forge a pair of Dual Dao swords."

* * *

The next day, his nephew was nowhere to be seen. Iroh woke up to find a note from Zuko stating that he would be gone all day running some errands.

Iroh sighed worriedly. His nephew seemed relentless in his quest to capture the Avatar's bison. That worried Iroh. It seemed as if Zuko would not be convinced. He sighed. Sometimes his nephew's blind loyalty towards their nation frustrates him. He longed for the day when Zuko would be able to see how horrible his father truly is and how much wrong their nation has done against the different countries.

It was late in evening before Zuko arrived.

He looked hot and sweaty, and his hands were lined with ash.

But he looked proud and triumphant as he showed off to Iroh a pair of perfectly forged Dual Dao swords.

* * *

The next day was their last day in the Lower Ring.

It was also the last day before Zuko would go and capture the bison.

They went about their usual business for the day. Zuko finished his packing. While searching through his cabinets he found the books and he had bought and realized that he will not need them. He decided that he'll give them to Jin tonight. He had already given instructions to his uncle. Iroh must be the one to bring his luggage because he had some "business" to attend to. Iroh looked unhappy.

For most of the morning he spouted proverbs about being contented and having a peaceful life.

"A contented man is always rich," Iroh suddenly said as Zuko lugged his bags to the living room. Zuko merely rolled his eyes.

By noon, Jin arrived with He Shen. The two of them cheerfully lead Iroh and Zuko their house, He Shen and Iroh singing loudly while He Shen strummed his liuqin.

Jin's apartment seemed to be located near the most crowded part of the city. The building was old and rundown with peeling paint and cracked and broken windows. Zuko felt sorry for Jin but he was amazed to see that she looked contented enough. Their apartment unit was really smaller than Zuko and Iroh's, with their kitchen barely supporting all of them. Ge Jiang as there although he looked amiable enough for the occasion.

Jin as it turned out didn't cook for them. Instead she bought some ready-made food from a nearby store. He Shen teased her about her cooking abilities even further. Iroh asked Ge Jiang more about himself and Zuko was mildly surprised to find that he answered his uncle with a cool politeness. The three siblings however, seemed uneager to divulge things about their previous life. They seemed to shrink whenever questions were asked about their former lives. Even Ge Jiang, who was very eloquent in speech, stumbled whenever Iroh asked any questions about their family and where they lived.

They continued to talk some more until lunch had long passed. He Shen and Iroh started singing songs while Ge Jiang left the apartment, giving a respectful bow to Iroh before he left.

Noticing that Iroh and He Shen seemed busy, Zuko silently tugged on Jin's sleeve.

"Come on. I want to give you something," Zuko said in a low voice.

"I'll show you my room," Jin whispered back.

Together they scrambled towards a small room tucked away in the corner.

Zuko's eyes bulged once he saw Jin's room. It was small and crowded but it looked very fascinating. A cot lay on the side where a small table stood beside it. But on every inch of the wall was every different kind of weapon imaginable. They were hung on the wall and carefully arranged. However, on one wall, an Earth Kingdom banner stood.

"Whoa," Zuko whistled.

"Yup. Took me weeks to get my whole collection back together," Jin said proudly.

"You had a collection?"

"Back in my old home."

"How come no one wants to talk about you and your brothers' past?"

Jin frowned and she quickly changed the topic, "What did you want to give me?"

Zuko frowned back at her but he decided to let it go. From the insides of his shirt he proudly procured the Dual Dao swords. He had spent the whole day learning how to forge them. He was at first, nervous that it might not be up to Jin's standards but Duan Jie assured him that he had forged them perfectly.

Jin looked impressed.

"Wow!" she exclaimed as she examined them.

"Even though I might not be able to teach you anymore, you can add it to your collection. And besides, I already taught you the basics. You can practice on your own," Zuko told her. Jin started swinging them around.

"Thank you so much!" Jin said. She hugged him. Zuko unexpectedly found himself hugging her back.

"And oh…..yeah. I forgot. I have some books back in the living room. I want you to have it," Zuko said gesturing outside.

Jin suddenly stiffened.

"Li?"

"Hmmm?"

"Where are you going?"

"What are you talking about?"

Jin stared at Zuko. Zuko frowned. Nothing ever seems to pass by Jin.

"I don't know….your giving me Dual Dao swords as a sort of…..goodbye present and your giving away things that you won't really need," Jin muttered.

"I am saying goodbye. I'm going to the Upper Ring remember?" Zuko nervously said.

Jin looked unconvinced.

"We can still see each other. My brothers have lots of odd jobs in the Upper Ring so I can still see you at times. It's not goodbye for good."

"You don't know that."

"Li….whatever your about to do….I think you should think about it," Jin warningly said.

"What? I'm not planning anything."

"I have a bad feeling about this….."

"For the hundredth time…nothing's up. I'm embracing life like you told me."

Jin looked at him skeptically.

"I really wish there was something I could say that would stop you from doing something stupid."

"I'm not about to do anything. It's all in your head."

They looked at each other. Jin held her fiery gaze defiantly.

Why did she even care?

It's not like Zuko and her knew each other that _well._

Zuko sighed.

He just wished that she would just stop. He doesn't deserve whatever concern she has for him.

"Me and my uncle have errands to attend to. I have to go," Zuko flatly said. He hurriedly scrambled back to the living room where his uncle and He Shen were happily singing a song.

Iroh didn't look too happy to leave but Zuko was growing impatient. Iroh finally agrees and together they are led outside the apartment by Jin. His uncle goes ahead of him muttering complaints.

Jin tapped Zuko's shoulder and she looked at him with a pleading look.

"Don't do it," she whispered.

"Don't do what?"

Jin sighed.

To Zuko's surprise she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

In a low voice she added, "Be careful."

As soon as she left he went to look for the bison.

But not before looking back.

* * *

Iroh sighed. Why did he always have to be a step behind Zuko? He growled as he watched his nephew, in his blue spirit mask, readied himself to attack. Zuko immediately stepped back after realizing that this was his uncle.

"Uncle," Zuko said taken aback.

Iroh feigned puzzlement. "So, the Blue Spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask ."

Zuko removed his mask.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. What do you plan to do now that you have found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment ? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him ?" Iroh sarcastically said.

"First I have to get it out of here," Zuko muttered.

Iroh cried incensed, "_AND THEN WHAT !_ You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go."

"I would have figured something out!" Zuko heatedly shot back.

"No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!" Iroh shouted back angrily.

Zuko looked away in anguish, "I know my own destiny uncle."

"Is it your own destiny or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you ?" Iroh forcefully asked.

Zuko said in a voice laced with torment, "Stop it uncle."

He turned towards Appa, "I have to do this."

"I'm _begging _you Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward, and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do _you_ want? " Iroh furiously pleaded.

"I want my destiny!" Zuko yelled.

"No, you want peace! And you have found it here!" Iroh roared back.

"I hate this city! I want to leave this place!" He screamed in anguish.

"No! That's what you are stubbornly telling yourself. But deep inside, I know you love this city! Think of all the people that you will be hurting if you go back to the Fire Nation! Think of Jin!"

Silence suddenly enveloped the place. Appa gave a low growl.

"Jin…" Zuko muttered.

"Do you think that she will be happy once you've miraculously captured the bison and blackmail the Avatar? Do you think that she will still like you once she's found out that you had just crushed her one last hope at _peace?_"

"She'll understand," Zuko weakly argued.

"No she would not! And you know it! She will never forgive you if you do this!"

"She will! Jin is not that kind of person! She's kind and understanding! She will forgive me!"

"Her mother died because of the Fire Nation! You can't have it both ways Prince Zuko!"

With a cry of frustration, Zuko hurled both of his swords to the ground, followed by the Blue Spirit mask. His cries echoed throughout the entire chamber.

He hated it when his uncle was right.

* * *

"You did the right thing nephew," Iroh said as Zuko pulled out the Blue Spirit mask.

"Leave it behind," Iroh said.

Zuko walked to the edge and dropped the mask into the lake, where it slowly sank into the depths.

Although he felt a strong surge of tranquility wash over him as the mask dropped, he still felt like he just killed a part of himself.

* * *

"You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free," Iroh said as he closed the door behind him.

" I don't feel right," Zuko feebly said.

His vision started to blur and everything suddenly started going dark.

He suddenly collapsed unconscious to floor, breaking a vase as he did so.

Iroh rushed to his side. "Nephew?"

For Zuko, all he could hear was the distinct sound of hissing and the smell of smoke.

* * *

_Another update down!_

_If you've noticed I added a bunch of other stuff to their conversations. I hope most of the original conversations are accurate. I had to re-watch the whole episode to get it down._

_Thanks to SkorpionQueen012 and ArrayePL for the reviews! Keep sending feedback and comments guys!_

_Thanks also to those that have read this! _

_Don't leave me hanging._

_Please send reviews and comments. _


	6. Part VI

**Burning Bright**

_Part VI_

Everything was on fire.

Zuko watched as the darkness started melting into orange flames, their heated tongues dangerously lashing out towards him. Zuko tried to step back but he discovered that he could not feel his arms and legs. He tried to scream but was wretched to discover that not a single sound escaped his mouth. Zuko panicked as the flames started enveloping him, invading his every senses; he felt the fire sting his eyes, the smoke fill his nose and the flames burn his tongue.

He needed water.

He desperately needed to do something to stop the fire.

Zuko groaned helplessly as he felt himself being roasted alive.

And the worst part was he could do nothing to stop it.

* * *

Zuko woke up with a start and was relieved to find himself back in his apartment. His vision was still blurry and everything looked like a kaleidoscope of colors. His throat felt dry and he was desperate for a drink of water. He craned his ear and waited for any signs that his uncle might be home. From his side, he could hear the sound of soft footsteps.

"Li!" a voice said.

Zuko turned to where he heard it and narrowed his eyes to get a closer look.

It was Jin.

Zuko was not sure how to feel about this. Mostly, he just felt glad that she holding a bucket of water in her hands. Partly, he was nervous of what she might think of him. He probably looked horrible. He didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want her to see him in such a weak state.

"You're burning up. You have an _intense_ fever," Jin worriedly said. She knelt down beside him and pressed a cloth over Zuko's brows.

Zuko tried to resist her help but found himself giving in after realizing how cool the cloth felt.

"Where's uncle?" He tried to make his voice sound stronger than he felt but it came out weak and feeble. Zuko cursed at himself.

"He went to the market to buy some herbs. Now….shh….you should relax," Jin murmured soothingly as she continued to dab the cloth over his forehead.

Zuko wondered how she got into the Upper Ring but he was too tired to think or to say anything more.

"This will help cool you down," Jin said as she soaked the cloth with water.

"So thirsty…." Zuko feebly said. He tried to sit up but Jin pushed him back down.

"Rest. Here's some clean water to drink," Jin said as she ladled water from the bucket. She patiently supported Zuko's shoulders while he drank.

Jin started rubbing circles into his shoulders.

"Stay under the blankets, and sweat this out," Jin ordered.

Zuko scowled, frustrated. Jin was giving him water in a manner that was much too slow. He snatched the ladle from Jin and drained it completely. He then tossed it away, turned and grabbed the bucket, pouring it down his throat and splashing his chest. He hurled it against a wall before settling back down, coughing_._

The water quenched him and doused the fire that was burning in his throat.

But that was not the end of his dark, shadowy dreams.

* * *

He was on the Fire Lord's throne mat, precariously placed behind a screen of flames. Rows and rows of Fire Nation soldiers were bowing towards him. Zuko looked around, completely disoriented. He briefly touched his face and was shocked to feel that his scar was gone. He immediately felt serene. As he sat impassively, two sinuous dragons, one blue and one red, slithered down and coiled themselves around him, their nostrils procuring steady streams of smoke.

"It's getting late. Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord ?" the Blue Dragon said. Her voice sounded strangely like Azula's.

"I'm not tired," Zuko stubbornly said although his eyes felt heavy.

The Blue Dragon drew close to his face. "Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go, give into it. Shut your eyes for awhile," it hissed.

Suddenly the Red Dragon roared and insistently said in a voice that sounded like his uncle's, "No, Fire Lord Zuko! Do not listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!"

Suddenly, a great Green Dragon roared and came hurtling into his view. The Blue and Red Dragon were forced to part as the Green Dragon started coiling itself around Zuko. The Blue Dragon hissed menacingly while the Red Dragon looked pleased. The Green Dragon continued to coil itself around Zuko until it finally stopped. Its great big eyes looked into him and Zuko was suddenly reminded of Jin's wide hazel eyes.

"Are you tired my Lord?" it crooned. The Green Dragon's voice sounded remarkably like Jin's.

Zuko found himself telling the dragon the truth.

"Yes," he said.

"The fight it! Get out of here Fire Lord Zuko!" the Green Dragon roared.

The Blue Dragon hissed and suddenly all the dragons were locked into a deadly dance around him. The Red and Green Dragon began to thrust at the Blue Dragon but the Blue Dragon was too lithe.

"Do not worry my Lord! We will protect you!" the Red Dragon screamed as he tried to hit the Blue Dragon.

"Don't sleep, Fire Lord Zuko," the Green Dragon whispered into his ear as it narrowly escaped the Blue Dragon's wrath.

But Zuko couldn't help it. His eyes were too heavy. They felt like lead.

"Sleep, my Lord!"

"Don't do it Fire Lord Zuko!" the Red Dragon yelled. But Zuko wasn't listening anymore.

His eyes were already closed.

"Don't sleep _Li_!" the Green Dragon screamed.

Zuko's eyes snapped open and he suddenly felt wide awake. He looked around in horror. The pillars started to crumble and the soldiers turned to dust. The Blue Dragon was winning. Even the combined forces of the Red and Green Dragon could not hold the Blue dragon off.

"Leave now, my Lord!" the Green Dragon yelled.

"Leave now!" the Red Dragon echoed.

But he couldn't

He couldn't just leave the two of them to fend for themselves.

There was nothing more than a sea of darkness and a big, gaping hole opened up beneath him, swallowing him into oblivion. Two cruel golden eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. He slowly realized that it was the blue dragon.

It screamed in a rising voice, "Sleep, just Like MOTHER!"

It then swallowed him in darkness. He looked around, desperate to escape.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

It was his mother, her hood drawn all over her face.

Ursa called out to him plaintively, "Zuko, help me!"

But everything was crumbly.

Everything was falling apart.

Everything was fading into nothingness.

* * *

Zuko sat up on his futon, his breath labored and his face glistening with sweat. He looked around their apartment and was shocked to see that it was already night. He looked to his side and found his uncle pouring some tea on a stoneware cup.

"Uncle? What are you doing here? Where's Jin?" Zuko grumbled in a weak voice.

"It was getting late so she had to go," Iroh said.

"Ugh….my head," Zuko muttered as he rubbed his temples.

"You should know this is not a natural sickness. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea," his uncle serenely said as he supported Zuko's head as he drank the tea.

In a groggy and disoriented voice Zuko asked, "What—what's happening?"

"Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake…it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body," Iroh gravely told him as he helped Zuko take a second sip of his tea.

"What's that mean?" Zuko demanded as he collapsed into another fitful sleep filled with abysmal dreams.

"You're going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful Prince you were always meant to be," Iroh explained as he mopped Zuko's head with a damp cloth.

But Zuko was already fast asleep.

* * *

Zuko suddenly woke up in the middle of the night again. He rose wearily and he left his bed walking past his sleeping uncle. He slid open a door into a small washroom, and splashed water from a basin over his face. He looked up into the mirror. Something was terribly wrong… Zuko was horrified to see that his reflection mimicked that of the Avatar. He had no scar, he was completely bald and he sported a blue tattoo.

"Ahhhh!" Zuko yelled as he jolted back into wakefulness. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were wide. He hurriedly touched the left side of his face and was relieved to find that his scar was still there.

"Li?" a soft voice called out.

Zuko turned to his side and was slightly shocked to see Jin there.

"Jin?" he murmured. She was holding a steaming bowl of soup in her hands.

"Your uncle had to attend to the finishing details of your shop. He also said he'll stop by to get some more herbs," Jin said after seeing his bewildered expression. Despite feeling very crummy he couldn't stop the goofy grin that was slowly spreading across his face.

"I made this from scratch. I hope you'll like it. I'm not a very good cook," Jin informed him as he took the bowl from her hands.

"I'm sure that's not true," Zuko assured her as he took a sip from the bowl. He immediately winced after discovering that the soup was very thick and lumpy and it was an awful mixture of sour and salty. Burnt bits of potato were mixed into the soup. Zuko tried to keep himself from gagging and spitting it back out.

Jin frowned and said in a disappointed tone, "You hate it."

"Don't be stupid. I love it," Zuko said as he forced another spoonful into his mouth.

"Then why is your face all screwed up?" Jin demanded.

"You're imaging that. It's all in your head," Zuko argued as he shoved another spoonful into his mouth.

"It's all right. You can tell me that it's awful," Jin said in a resigned voice. She looked sad and disappointed.

Zuko wanted to just admit that he hated it but he disliked seeing the sad look on her face. He sighed and continued to force the awful soup down.

"It's really great. See? I'm almost done with my bowl," Zuko said through gritted teeth as he presented the bowl to Jin.

Jin wrinkled her nose and said in a teasing voice, "You are_ so_ terrible."

Zuko tried his best to diffuse the situation. Jin was looking more and more disappointed. His brain pounded harder as he tried to think of a situation where he won't hurt her feelings while not punishing himself with her awful soup at the same time. He wished that his uncle was here. He was good at stuff like this especially whenever he started spouting out proverbs. Zuko tried to think up of his own proverb.

"Our shortcomings are uh….what…..um….makes us…beautiful…in others….eyes and…um"

Jin exhaled loudly just as his uncle entered their apartment. Zuko sighed in relief as his uncle took a seat next to Jin. He was carrying a small pouch in his left hand.

"Well if it isn't my nephew! Li the Great Sleepyhead!" his uncle said laughing heartily. Jin laughed along with him.

Zuko scowled grumpily.

"I see Jin has given you her most…..er….._delectable_ potato and fish soup!" Iroh said after realizing that Zuko was holding a bowl of Jin's soup in his hands.

"There's fish in this?" Zuko asked in surprise as he examined the soup further.

"It's the little round things floating near the sides," Iroh informed him.

Zuko looked at the fish and was appalled to discover that it looked severely burned. If Zuko hadn't known, he might have thought that it was bits of ash that had clumped together.

"Oh."

"You two think that it's disgusting," Jin sighed dejectedly.

"No! It's great," Zuko said as he took another sip. He cringed involuntarily.

"I bought you some Valerian. It will make you sleep more peacefully," Iroh said as he procured a small white flower for Zuko to see. Zuko took one sniff of it and he immediately felt drowsy.

"Why do I need this?" Zuko demanded as his eyes started growing heavy.

"You were having a bit of…..a fitful sleep, nephew," Iroh said as he proceeded to grind the Valerian into a fine powder. He then started poured it into a steaming cup of hot water.

"You often tossed and turned in your sleep. Did I mention that you also talked in your sleep?" Jin snickered.

"What? What did you hear? Were you there when I said anything? Did I say anything weird?" Zuko said in flurry.

Jin burst out laughing and said in between her fits of giggles, "Nothing too embarrassing."

Zuko growled and looked away praying she hadn't heard anything too humiliating.

"Drink up nephew," Iroh said as he handed the cup to Zuko.

Zuko stared at it reluctantly and was conflicted on whether he should rink it or not. He always disliked any sort of medicine, even as a boy and he felt that it was really unnecessary. They were just dreams. They weren't anything too horrible. However, he did want to put a stop to all his weird and awful dreams. Perhaps this herb would really help.

Zuko drank everything in one gulp. He nearly spat the herb back out. It tasted even worse than Jin's soup.

The herb's effects immediately started kicking in. Zuko felt drowsier and drowsier and he was on his way back to slumber land. Jin left a few moments later, saying that she had to be back to the Lower Ring before evening. The two of them bid her goodbye as she left their apartment.

Zuko sighed before settling back into his futon. He wrinkled his nose at Jin's soup before shoving it in his uncle's hand.

"I see that she tried to feed you with her…._soup,_" Iroh said as he drained all of its contents into the sink.

"I don't think that it is even edible," Zuko yawned as pulled the blanket over him.

"Sadly, her cooking is not as wonderful as her charming personality," Iroh said as he shook his head.

"I think my stomach feels weird," Zuko muttered as he started falling asleep.

"Of course it would. You nearly finished the whole bowl," Iroh chuckled.

"I had to. It would've hurt her feelings."

Iroh snickered and said, "She is already well aware how horrible her cooking is nephew. I'm sure she wouldn't be quite as offended as you imagined if you tell her."

After a few moments his uncle added, "I did not know that you are in _this deep_ Prince Zuko."

"What! What are you talking about?" Zuko screeched as he sat up.

"You must really like her to be able to put up with her cooking."

Iroh couldn't help adding that comment for good measure.

Zuko gave a loud growl before falling back to sleep.

His uncle's amusement over his misery never seemed to end.

* * *

He was immersed in nothing but darkness. Zuko looked around and saw nothing but the dark, inky color. He started to walk forwards, his ear craned for any sound that might indicate any activity. He walked in the darkness for what seemed like the longest time when suddenly a great deafening crash echoed through the silence. Zuko whirled around and was shocked to see the three dragons again. They were all locked in a deadly dance with the Red and Green Dragon once again fighting against the Blue Dragon. The Blue Dragon seemed to be winning. It chuckled as the Green Dragon failed to hit it with its tail.

Zuko ran towards them. He wanted to help the Red and Green Dragon. He wanted to stop the Blue Dragon.

The Red Dragon gave a mighty roar before pummeling towards the Blue Dragon. The Blue Dragon merely snickered before lashing the Red Dragon out with its tail. The Blue Dragon's laugh rose as the Red Dragon fell to the sides, its great big head drooping in defeat.

"No!" Zuko yelled.

He stared at the Blue Dragon as it slithered its way towards the Green Dragon. Zuko tensed himself into a stance, just in case the Blue Dragon tries to pull anything against the Green the Dragon. The two dragons circled each other. It seemed as if they were both waiting for one of them to attack. It seemed as if the Green Dragon decided to attack first. It gave a low hiss before thrusting its tail towards the Blue Dragon. The Blue Dragon gave another mocking laugh as it dodged the Green Dragon's tail.

They continued to thrust and dodge at each other when the Blue Dragon gave a hiss before hitting the green Dragon on its head. Zuko watched in horror as the Green Dragon staggered. He was relieved however to find that the Green Dragon held its formidable stance.

But something about the way the Blue Dragon's eyes glinted made Zuko nervous. It was as if it was planning something else.

Suddenly it reared its head before spitting out a stream of bright blue fire towards the Green Dragon. Zuko could barely contain himself from panicking as the Green Dragon narrowly avoided the fire.

The Green Dragon whimpered as it examined its tail. It got burned. It seemed as if the Green Dragon could no longer move.

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled as he started firebending.

The Green Dragon was trapped. The Blue Dragon was about to shoot another stream of blue fire towards the Green Dragon.

Zuko firebent a series of fireballs towards the Blue Dragon in attempt to stop it.

But something was wrong….

The Blue Dragon was smiling and laughing as if it was…..it was its plan all along.

Just as the fireballs neared the Blue Dragon skidded away. Zuko yelled in horror as the fireball hit the Green Dragon consuming it in flames. Zuko couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the wails and cries that escaped from the Green Dragon's mouth.

Suddenly the Blue Dragon slithered into view again. It whispered in Zuko's ear, "Thanks for the help Fire Lord Zuko…."

Zuko growled, spun around and tried to send a stream of fire towards it but the Blue Dragon dodged his attack once again. It slithered upwards and laughed loudly as the stream of flames hit the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon gave a weak groan.

"I didn't mean to…" Zuko said as he desperately tried to fix this.

He turned to face the Green Dragon and was sad to see that it was moaning and wailing in pain.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled desperately.

"Too late…." The voice of the Blue Dragon echoed around the darkness.

And just then, the whole place erupted into flames.

Zuko watched in panic as the Green Dragon and Red Dragon disappeared behind a curtain of flames. From above he could hear the cruel, mocking laugh of the Blue Dragon.

"Zuko! How could you betray me?" his uncle's voice echoed.

Zuko spun around and shocked to see his uncle's silhouette behind the curtain of flames.

"Uncle?" Zuko called out.

"You betrayed me, Prince Zuko. Even after all I've done for you. Even after I've stood by you when nobody did!" his uncle's voice screamed. Zuko watched in horror as Iroh's silhouette writhed and wriggled in pain.

"No! Uncle! I would never….could never betray you! It was an accident! I didn't mean for it to happen!" Zuko cried as he ran towards his uncle.

"Li!"

Zuko stopped in his tracks. That was Jin's voice.

He spun around and saw her silhouette. Her silhouette was also writhing in pain.

"You lied to me, Li!" Jin's voice said accusingly.

"I didn't mean to—I had to! You would've hated me if—''

"Traitor! You betrayed us all _Zuko_! I will never forgive you for what you have done!" Jin yelled.

Zuko ran towards her. He tried to keep the flames down.

"I would never do anything to hurt you," Zuko said a he tried to kill the flames with his firebending. However, no matter what he did the fire never died down.

"Liar! You are a liar and a traitor….just like your sister!" Jin's voice condemned.

"No! I am nothing like Azula!"

"Oh no?" the Blue Dragon's voice flitted into the air once again.

Zuko looked up.

He yelled at the Blue Dragon in anger, "Shut up! _Shut up! _Put this fire out now! Can't you see that you're hurting them?"

"What are you talking about Fire lord Zuko…." The Blue Dragon hissed as it coiled itself around Zuko's once again.

Zuko backed away.

In a menacing voice the Blue Dragon screamed, "You started this fire! _It was you who burned them alive_!"

"No!" Zuko yelled as the Blue Dragon swallowed him whole.

He was suddenly enveloped in voices. He heard voices everywhere. Voices that were all yelling at him

"Nephew, how could you do this to me?"

"Li! You lied to me!"

"Sleep, Fire Lord Zuko….."

"You have lost your way, nephew!"

"Li, I hate you!"

"Just close your eyes, Fire Lord Zuko…."

"Li!"

Zuko spun around to face Jin. She was staring at him with hollow eyes.

Suddenly she was enveloped in flames. She was on fire. She didn't scream or yell or writhe in pain.

Instead, she said in a pleading tone as she held her hand out, "Li! Help me…."

* * *

"Jin!" Zuko yelled as he jolted back into wakefulness.

His head pounded and he was perspiring at such a fast rate. His breathing was labored and his vision swam. He felt even sicker than before.

He felt someone rub his head in a soothing, circular motion.

"Shh…..it's all right….go back to sleep…"

"I will not sleep!" Zuko snapped. He will never give in to the Blue Dragon. He will never sleep.

He spun around and was embarrassed to find that it was Jin. Jin raised a brow at him.

"Nephew! That was very rude of you!" Iroh chastised. He turned around to look at his uncle.

"Uncle? Jin?"

"Hi, Li," Jin said good-naturedly, completely ignoring Zuko's previous outbursts.

"Jin! You're okay!' Zuko said in relief. He hugged her. Jin stared at him confused.

"Of course I am Li….I'm always okay," Jin smiled as Zuko continued to envelop her in a bone-crushing hug.

"And you too uncle! You're alive!" Zuko said happily as he also gave his uncle a hug.

Iroh and Jin looked at each other in utter confusion.

Zuko on the other hand never felt so happy. That dream was the worse one yet. He was glad that it was all just a dream and that none of it was real. He settled back into his futon and stared at the window. He was shocked to find that it was already morning.

"How long was I out?" Zuko asked as Jin sat next to him. Jin handed him a cup of cold water.

"Oh...your uncle told me you slept through yesterday all the way through the night. In fact, it's already midday," Jin said as she took the cup back.

"What!"

"I guess the Valerian didn't work. You still tossed and turned in your sleep," Jin said. She gently started rubbing his hair. Zuko closed his eyes and smiled. He liked the feeling of her hands running through his hair.

"Did I still talk in my sleep?" Zuko asked. He hoped he hadn't said anything too embarrassing.

"You kept on mumbling something. Truth to be told I couldn't understand most of what you were saying. However, towards lunchtime, you started yelling 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'" Jin said.

"Perhaps, I should find some other alternative. I know a great tea that gives me a warm feeling whenever I go to sleep," Iroh enthusiastically said.

Zuko scowled. Tea. _Again._

"I don't want tea!" Zuko snapped.

"I hope you get better soon. Being sick has made you twice as grumpy as you normally would have been," Jin stated.

Zuko scowled and rolled his eyes.

"Here is some lunch nephew. As soon as you finished this you might have to take a dose of Fo-Ti. Your fever is getting worse," Iroh said as he handed a bowl to Zuko.

Zuko and Jin talked a bit more as he ate his lunch. Jin told him about how Ge Jiang earthbent a Middle Ring gentleman since the man wouldn't pay her brother properly. She told him about He Shen's new song and how he was currently obsessed with the Ruan. Jin told him more about the teashop. His uncle often chimed in to add a few more details. Jin told him how more and more people were moving into the Upper Ring.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Jin said.

"Get into the Upper Ring quickly," Zuko continued.

Jin smiled and said in a mysterious voice, "Oh, I have my ways."

Zuko scoffed and decided not to push it. Zuko's head ached and he was sweating up a storm. He really wanted to lie down and go back to sleep but he also wanted to talk with Jin. They continued to talk about more ridiculous things. Although Zuko would never admit it, he was secretly afraid of his last nightmare. It seemed much too realistic.

"Jin," Zuko interrupted her story about Duan Jie's new blacksmith.

"Hm?"

Zuko squared his shoulders and looked at Jin evenly in the eye.

"You know that I would never do anything to hurt you right?" he said seriously. Jin looked at him, bewildered. She decided that he must still be half-delirious from his fever.

"Um…."

"You know that right? I would never hurt you or _uncle_?" Zuko said as he looked at his uncle.

Iroh stared at his nephew with a proud smile on his face.

"Of course, nephew," Iroh said as he bowed his head slightly.

"What's with you? When did you get so sentimental?" Jin said.

Zuko shrugged.

"Your fever damaged your brain a lot more than I thought," Jin snickered.

Zuko huffed but Jin knew that he wasn't really angry. As soon as Zuko finished his lunch, his uncle gave him the medicine. It tasted slightly better than the Valerian and it wasn't quite as bitter. Zuko continued to talk with Jin until he felt tired and drowsy. His head pounded and he ached to sleep. He tried to stay awake but his eyes won't let him. Jin assured him that it was okay. She helped Iroh set the Pai Sho board up as Zuko started falling back asleep.

"What was up with that?" Jin said as she looked at Zuko.

Iroh smiled serenely and said, "It means that my nephew has finally found peace within himself."

* * *

Zuko was in a world of fire. Wherever he turned, he saw nothing but great, big orange flames. Dark shadows and silhouettes moved about in the flames. Zuko felt disoriented and confused. He looked around, praying that the Blue Dragon was not there. Although he never admitted it to anyone, even to himself, the Blue Dragon gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It made him feel nervous and scared even when he knew that there was nothing to be really afraid of.

He stood there in stillness and silence when suddenly a great big shape loomed over him.

Zuko frowned and looked up. It was the shape of a dragon. He involuntarily shuddered.

It must be the Blue Dragon.

Zuko sprinted forwards. He wanted to run. He wanted to run away from the Blue Dragon and its cruel eyes and malicious voice. He didn't care where he ran. He just didn't want to face the Blue Dragon.

He stopped.

He heard something.

Zuko craned his ear to listen better.

It was the faint sound of someone crying and weeping. Zuko immediately felt drawn towards the sound. He moved backwards in attempt to find the source of the noise.

The crying grew louder and louder until it erupted in a scale so loud, it made Zuko's ear hurt.

Suddenly he saw the sinuous shadow of a dragon plummeting towards him. He stepped back desperate to avoid the Blue Dragon. The dragon slithered out of the darkness, its great big eyes staring at him squarely in his eye. Zuko was relieved to find that it was not the Blue Dragon but the Green Dragon. He smiled but then his grin immediately drooped. The Green Dragon looked very displeased. Smoke was spewing out of its nostrils and its eyes were filled with unimaginable hate.

"Traitor…." It hissed as it covered Zuko with a cloud of smoke.

The Green Dragon then rose upwards. Zuko wondered what he could have done to make the Green Dragon so angry.

Zuko then remembered that he burned the Green Dragon.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident!" Zuko yelled after the Green Dragon. Zuko started to cough loudly as he inhaled some smoke.

The Green Dragon ignored what he said. Instead it spoke in a voice that was rising octaves higher with every word, "I gave you my trust. And you have violated it, by betraying me! By betraying Ba Sing Se! _By betraying all of us!"_

"I didn't mean to—It was an accident—The Blue Dragon tricked me!" Zuko helplessly said.

"_Liar!_ You had a choice!" the Green Dragon roared. Its roar echoed throughout the place, making the ground where Zuko stood shake. Zuko tried to desperately maintain his balance.

Suddenly everything was still and silent once again. All the flames died down leaving Zuko in the middle of a sea of darkness once again.

From afar, Zuko could hear the faint sound of someone whimpering and weeping. Zuko spun around. He was desperate to get out of this place. It made his head ache and it also made his vision blurry.

"I am sorry!" Zuko called out to the Green Dragon.

The Green Dragon slithered above him.

"It's too late. You've hurt me!" the Green Dragon said. Its voice was choked with sadness.

"But I didn't mean to. I would never do anything to hurt or betray you."

"But you have hurt me._ You have betrayed me!"_

"You don't understand! I was blinded by the Blue dragon! She tricked me!"

"You are making excuses for your actions! You are responsible for what you have done!"

"But I did not want that to happen!"

"_But still you allowed it to!" _

And with that the Green Dragon started to cry. Big, giant drops of tears fell down on Zuko face. Soon, tears started to immerse Zuko in a flood of water that reached all the way to his hip. The water of tears started to rise higher and higher until Zuko could barely breathe.

In a great sad voice, the Green Dragon said, "I can't believe that you have done this to me, _Li."_

Zuko couldn't stop himself from giving a bitter cry as he drowned in the Green Dragon's tears.

* * *

"Li! Li! Wake up!" Jin screeched as she tried to shake him back into wakefulness.

Iroh watched with worry as Zuko started to sweat and as his face melded into an unreadable expression. They were just in the middle of their Pai Sho game when Zuko started screaming and tossing and turning in his sleep. Iroh at first instructed Jin not to mind him. So far, his sleep was often ridden with nightmares since his sickness. It would soon pass. However, Zuko's voice sounded more and more frantic and his face looked so agitated that Jin immediately scrambled towards him in an effort to wake him up.

"Li!" Jin yelled as Zuko finally opened his eyes.

Zuko looked at Jin feebly in the eye and said in a weak voice, "I am sorry."

"Shh…..it's all right. You were having a nightmare. Go back to sleep," Jin soothingly murmured into his ear as she hugged him.

"I am sorry," Zuko repeated.

And with that he closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

* * *

He was sitting on the fire Lord's throne mat once again. Rows and rows of soldiers were bowing towards him while great, big pillars stood at each of his side. Zuko looked around in fear. He hoped that he would never see the three dragons again. They all made his head ache with their never ending voices of accusations and pleadings and commands. Zuko rubbed his temple as the soldiers started to chant his name. They all said in a mechanical voice, "Hail! Fire Lord Zuko! Hail! Fire lord Zuko!"

"This is what you have always wanted, right, my Lord?"

Zuko scowled as the Blue Dragon slithered into his view. It started to coil itself around one of the pillars before prodding its head towards his ear.

"It's great isn't it? The feeling of having so much power?" the Blue Dragon hissed into his ear. It then uncoiled itself from the pillar and it started to move above Zuko's head.

"I won't listen to you. You are a liar. You are cruel and manipulative. You tricked me into hurting the Green and Red Dragon," Zuko said as he determinedly tried to block the Blue Dragon's voice from his head.

"But I had your best intentions at heart, Fire Lord Zuko. They were both weaklings….they held you back," the Blue Dragon murmured.

"What if I wanted to be held back? You have no right to decide for me!" Zuko yelled.

The Blue Dragon whimpered and said in a patronizing tone, "Forgive me, Fire lord Zuko. I am your humble servant."

"Silence! You have caused great damage by turning the Green and Red Dragon against me!" Zuko snapped.

The Blue Dragon looked incensed. It gave a mighty roar before shouting, "_Such lies!_ It was you who had turned the Red and Green Dragon against you! It was you who burned both of them! It was you who shot them into flames! I had nothing to do with this! _It was all your fault_!"

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the Blue Dragon's loud screams.

Zuko opened his eyes and was relieved to see that the Blue Dragon no longer looked angry. Instead it started bowing at his feet and it said, "Forgive me for my outburst. Stay here my lord. Your country needs you….."

"No!" a great big voice said. Zuko turned to find the Red Dragon propelling towards him. The Blue Dragon hissed as the Red Dragon bowed at Zuko's feet and said in a firm tone, "Do not listen to the Blue Dragon, my Lord. She is trying to trap you with a destiny that is not yours! You must follow your own path. You must follow _me_."

"Don't listen to him, my Lord! The Red Dragon is a traitor!"

"The Blue Dragon is not loyal to you my Lord! It only wishes to gain power through you!"

"Stay here Fire lord Zuko…..stay here where you belong," the Blue Dragon purred.

"No! Come with me! Come with me to your destiny!" the Red Dragon said.

"No! Your destiny lies here! You belong here! As the great ruler of the Fire Nation!"

"That is not your true destiny—''

"And you believe this fool? I have done exactly what you wanted me to do! I have given you what you wanted! I have given you your throne, your home and your _honor!"_

Zuko turned to look at the Blue Dragon. What it had said made more sense than what the Red Dragon said…..However, he still felt as if it was very wrong to betray the Red Dragon.

"Fire Lord, Zuko! Do not listen to the Blue Dragon! Remember, it always_ lies_!"

"Lies? How can they be lies? I have given what he wanted!" the Blue Dragon roared as he laughed maliciously.

"No! You belong with your destiny! Let's get out of here, fast!"

"Stay here! Where your homeland and people are!"

Zuko's head ached from all the voices. He covered his ears in attempt to stop everything. His head felt dull and heavy and he wished that both of them would just stop. They were all forcing him with all these decisions. And what they both offered him were things he wanted. Zuko groaned.

"Or you could come with me," a soft voice whispered in his ear.

Zuko looked at his side to find the Green Dragon. He felt relieved to find that it no longer looked at him with a murderous glare. Instead, it was looking at Zuko in a soft and gentle manner, its great big body placidly coiling itself around his own.

"You could come with me…..and you would never have to be bothered by any other decisions. You could come with me….and forget everything…." The Green Dragon crooned. Its voice made Zuko feel sleepy and he found himself slowly dulling into slumber. Beside him, the two dragons began to hiss edgily.

"But what about my destiny?" Zuko said as he finally forced himself to say something.

The Red Dragon nodded eagerly.

"Have you ever thought that your destiny might lie within me? Have you ever thought that your destiny might be to settle down, have a normal life, be with someone you love…" the Green Dragon purred as it faced Zuko. Images started flashing in its big hazel eyes. The teashop, a new apartment and…Zuko gulped. The very last image that flashed into the dragon's eye was….Jin. She was staring at him with a big and happy smile on his face.

"Perhaps that is what you want…_but that is not your destiny_!" the Red Dragon said as it blew a stream of smoke towards the Green Dragon. The Green Dragon hissed.

Zuko looked away from the Red Dragon and faced the Green Dragon once again. He said in a reluctant voice, "A part of me wants that. But what about my throne? My country? My honor?"

The Green Dragon roared and shook its head, "But what about peace? Does your throne, your country, your_ honor _give you peace?"

"It gives you power! It gives you what you have always wanted!" the Blue Dragon desperately screeched.

Zuko's head ached as the three dragons started closing in on him. Each of them were hissing and whispering and his ears pounded from all the noise. He wanted to be free from all of this. He wanted to be free from all these decisions. Zuko edge back but panicked as he discovered that the throne mat was hanging precariously on a precipice. One more move and he would fall.

"Stay here, Fire Lord Zuko. Stay with your country…." The Blue Dragon hissed.

"Come with me Fire Lord Zuko! Come with me to your destiny!" The Red Dragon said.

"Come with me! Come with me to live a life of peace and tranquility!" The Green Dragon purred.

"NO! Stop it! ALL OF YOU!" Zuko yelled as moved backwards.

He didn't care what would happen to him if he fell.

He just wanted to get away.

"Fire Lord Zuko, stay here. I have everything you have always wanted…."

"But I have your destiny! Didn't you always want your destiny?"

"I have a life of happiness and peace! Do you also not want them?"

Zuko fell into the darkness as the loud voices and whispers continued to plague him.

* * *

Zuko forced his eyes open as a stream of light flooded his vision momentarily. He looked around and was relieved to see that he was back in his apartment. That was his worst nightmare yet and it seemed as if nothing his uncle gave him eased all his horrid dreams. Also, as his nightmares grew worse, so did his fever. Zuko was breathing in a very shallow way and his body was covered with a thick layer of sweat. His head felt woozy.

"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?" he heard Jin say.

Zuko turned to his left to find his uncle and Jin playing Pai Sho. It seemed as if they did not notice that he was already awake. Jin was frowning at the Pai Sho board while his uncle was grinning like a hyena-monkey.

"Yes. If the tide turns um….left then the…..lily tile can move…..three places up," Iroh awkwardly explained.

"I've never heard of that rule in Pai Sho."

"You are still young. I don't expect you to fully understand all the rules of Pai Sho," Iroh wisely said.

Zuko rolled his eyes. He suspected that Iroh was losing once again and he was making up new rules to keep Jin from winning.

"Ah, nephew! I see that you have awakened!" Iroh suddenly said interrupting whatever Jin was about to say next.

"Li? You look awful….you're so….sweaty," Jin frowned.

"Ugh…..my head! None of herbs you gave me worked!" Zuko spat as he gave a hard cough.

"Your fever has gone down last night. I think it will take only a few more days before you completely sweat it out."

"Last….night?" Zuko said. He was having trouble focusing. His head ached.

"You slept through the day and night again. You only woke up briefly before falling back to sleep," Iroh informed him.

"Just rest. Your uncle is grinding some Fo-Ti up now," Jin said as she knelt down beside him.

Zuko forced a smile out. He really did not want her to see him in this state. He tried to brush off the fact that his head was pounding and that his body felt as if it was on fire. In a strained voice he murmured, "How's your brothers? Ge Jiang still giving you a hard time?"

"Actually…." Jin frowned and she hesitated.

"What?"

"Actually….something's really wrong," Jin admitted.

"What made you say that?" Zuko asked.

"More people from the Dai Li are showing up near our apartment. It's as if they know," Jin said.

"Know what?"

"You know, _know_," Jin meaningfully said.

"Oh." Zuko realized that she was talking about her earthbending.

"What happened? How did they find out?" Zuko demanded.

"I'm not sure. My brothers wouldn't tell me but I have a hunch that it must've been He shen's fault."

"What made you say that?"

"Ge Jiang is being twice the jerk towards He Shen."

"Poor Shen…."

"Yeah….I haven't earthbent in a week," Jin said. She looked frustrated.

"I'm sure it will pass," Zuko said as he tried to re-assure her.

"What makes you so sure?"

"My uncle and I had a run-in with the Dai Li too," Zuko said. Jin smiled at him.

His uncle started ambling towards them. He handed Zuko another cup of medicine. Zuko scowled and downed it within a second. Jin and Iroh resumed back to their Pai Sho game while Zuko forced the sunlight out with his blanket. His head ached.

He slowly started wafting back to sleep as he heard his uncle and Jin talk about Pai Sho once again.

"What do you mean that it's not valid?"

"That is because the hyacinth is at an equinox…"

* * *

He was in the room filled with darkness again. Zuko groaned as he heard the sound of the three dragons slithering about. He hated them. All three of them. They made his head ache and pound. He started to walk forward when three items suddenly appeared in front of him. They were a teacup, the Fire Lord's headpiece and the Avatar's staff. Zuko fingered each one of them with curiosity.

Suddenly a dragon slithered past him.

It was the Blue Dragon.

"Would you like to put your headpiece on Fire lord Zuko?" it hissed as it grabbed the headpiece with its tail.

Zuko wanted to say 'yes' but felt as if something was wrong…

"Maybe later…." Zuko murmured.

"Perhaps the Fire Lord would like to carry his staff?'' the Red Dragon said as it flew past him and grabbed the staff with its teeth.

"I don't really need a staff…." Zuko said as he backed away.

"No, what he needs is a cup of tea," the Green Dragon said as it slithered past the two dragons to grab the teacup with its tail.

"I'm not thirsty…." Zuko haplessly replied.

"Don't be stupid. You know you love tea," the Green Dragon purred.

"But he has to put this on first," the Blue Dragon said as it tried to push past the Green dragon.

"But not before taking his staff," the Red Dragon said.

The three dragons cornered him until he was backed against a wall.

"Stop it! Leave me alone! I want to get out of here!" Zuko snapped.

"If you want to leave you have to choose something," the Red Dragon hissed.

"But I can't…." Zuko frowned.

"Then you can't leave!" the Blue Dragon roared.

"Leave me alone!" Zuko screeched.

"Have a cup of tea Prince Zuko….."

"Put your headpiece on fire Lord Zuko…."

"Don't forget your staff Prince Zuko…."

Zuko covered his ears but that did not block the sound of their voices.

"Your headpiece fire lord Zuko…."

"Drink some tea first….."

"Your staff….."

"Ugh!" Zuko yelled.

The Blue Dragon suddenly shoved the headpiece up his nose.

"This holds everything you ever wanted. This holds the key to your honor, your throne and your home!" it murmured.

The Green Dragon pushed the Blue Dragon away and waved the cup of tea in front of Zuko.

"But this holds the key to tranquility and freedom…."

The Red Dragon hissed and showed the staff to Zuko, "This holds the key to your destiny…."

Zuko let out a painful growl.

He had to choose one.

That's all he needed to do to leave this place right?

Right?

"Leave me and I will choose!' he yelled.

The three dragons bowed and set the items on floor before flying away. The Blue Dragon hung back however and whispered in his ear, "If you choose the headpiece, you will get your father's love back."

Zuko scowled in frustration as he knelt down and examined all three items. He started to understand what they all meant, what the dragons all wanted for him…

The headpiece was pretty obvious. If he picked it, he would get his throne, his honor and his country back. But did he really want all those? Zuko started to feel confused. It would also mean he would get his father's love back.

The staff was his destiny. But that was the most confusing bit. How was the Avatar's staff part of his destiny? The avatar was his enemy. What was the Red Dragon truly promising him if he picked it?

And the teacup…..while the meaning was very obvious it was also puzzling. If he picked the teacup, it would mean having a peaceful life here in Ba Sing Se. He wouldn't have to worry about the war, about his destiny—he could be Li once again.

Zuko thought long and hard.

Finally, he called all three dragons.

"I have made my choice," Zuko declared.

The three dragons nodded eagerly.

Zuko procured the teacup and showed it to the three dragons.

The Red Dragon yelled in frustration while the Green Dragon gave a gleeful roar. It coiled itself around Zuko in happiness. It hissed in his ear, "Thank you my Lord….."

The Blue Dragon, strangely enough, looked content. It was smiling maliciously.

That smile made Zuko nervous.

He knew that smile.

It meant that the Blue Dragon had gotten what it wanted after all.

Zuko guiltily looked at the Green Dragon.

The Blue Dragon _did_ get what it wanted.

Hiding beneath the folds of Zuko's sleeve was the Fire Lord's headpiece.

* * *

_Zuko's having inner turmoil again….._

_I know that this update is pretty short. Once again I tampered some of the original conversations. I had to re-watch the episode "The Earth King" to get it down. _

_Thanks to those who read this story and added this story to their Favorites. _

_Special thanks to SkorpionQueen012 for reviewing in every single chapter. You are awesome._

_Thanks also to ArrayePL for sending the reviews and comments._

_Thanks to Marina Hawk for the review. It made my day. _

_Oh and P.S: Don't expect me to update fast. It usually takes me more than a week before I could update another chapter. _

_Please send review and comments._


	7. Part VII

**Burning Bright**

_Part VII_

Iroh woke up the next morning and noticed that Zuko had left his futon, which was sprawled out in the living room. He looked over to his nephew's room and saw that it was closed. He decided that perhaps Zuko had awoken in the middle of the night and that he decided to return to his own room for sleep. He felt slightly cheerful at the thought that his nephew might be feeling better. Although he did not admit it to anyone, the fever frightened him greatly. He went about his usual business and he started preparing their breakfast. He started pouring ladles of hot water onto the pot before stirring some rice in. Sadly, he did not get the creamy, white porridge he hoped to get. Instead, his porridge became lumpy and thick and it tasted too bland. Iroh sighed in annoyance as he tried to fix the rice porridge. He was so immersed with what he was doing that he did not notice Zuko groggily entering into their kitchen.

"What's that smell?" Zuko demanded has he scrunched his nose up.

Iroh smiled as he turned to look at his nephew. Zuko looked better. His cheeks weren't as pale as they were before and he seemed to be in a better mood.

Knowing his nephew's picky taste, Iroh doubtfully said, "It's jook. I'm sure you wouldn't like it."

Zuko bowed over the steaming pot and discovered that jook was actually a weird and thick white paste. It _did_ smell awful and it looked disgusting but Zuko did not want to hurt his uncle's feelings. And besides, having a horrible breakfast was such a little thing to get riled up over.

Zuko looked up and smiled pleasantly at his uncle. "Actually, it smells delicious. I'd love a bowl, Uncle."

He held a bowl out. Iroh looked at Zuko suspiciously. On a normal day, his nephew would have already lost his patience and he would have had the whole pot set on fire. Iroh reluctantly ladled some jook into his bowl.

As Zuko took a spoonful a loud knock echoed through the room. Iroh hurried to the door and opened it where Jin stood cheerfully waiting outside. She was carrying a package that was neatly wrapped in brown paper and tied tastefully with a simple but elegant ribbon.

"Jin! What a pleasant surprise! My, you look lovely!" Iroh commented as he opened the door wider.

Zuko heard peals of laughter and Jin's voice saying, "Stop! You never seem to run out of compliments!"

Jin stepped inside and Zuko nearly choked on his breakfast.

She was wearing something entirely different then her usual ratty, everyday dress and her earthbending garb. Instead, she wore a beautiful silk dress that was intricately embroidered with Jasmine flowers. It was more fitted than regular Earth Kingdom dress and it accentuated her slim figure. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun although she still refused to tuck her side bangs in and it was garnished with a pure, white flower. Zuko decided that she must be going somewhere special. She wasn't wearing any make-up however, but that suited Zuko just fine. She looked very beautiful without make-up.

"Jin!" Zuko said as he enthusiastically waved at her.

Jin furrowed her brow in confusion before melting into a big smile. She said, "Hi, Li! You look better!"

"I feel better! What's with this? You look so beautiful!" Zuko laughed as he gestured at her fancy attire. Iroh smirked before nudging Zuko in his ribs. Zuko sent his uncle a murderous glare.

Jin blushed and twirled around before giving a little bow.

"Do you like it? It's for the opening of the Jasmine Dragon!" Jin cheerfully said as she waved a small, emerald-green paper in front of him. Zuko grabbed it and looked at it closely. It was an invitation, as well as a pass to the Upper Ring.

"The opening…" Zuko trailed off. The opening wasn't supposed to happen until three weeks had past.

"You were out for a very long time. You must have been very sick," Jin murmured as she took the invitation back from him. Zuko looked at her and saw that aside from the flower, a headpiece held her bun in place. It looked slightly old but it was very imposing. Zuko stared at it curiously.

"It is a good thing you feel better, just in time for the opening!" Iroh said as he clapped a hand unto Zuko's shoulder. He then turned to look at Jin, "You look very beautiful! Are your brothers and the rest still coming?"

"The rest?" Zuko said bewildered. He must've been out for a very long time to miss things like these.

"Your uncle also invited my brothers and Duan Jie and Shu! He even invited Pao!" Jin explained.

Zuko stared at his uncle in disbelief. "Pao? Pao! _Pao!"_

"Pao was the jumping stone to my career," Iroh good-naturedly said.

Jin shrugged and said, "He wasn't too happy when I gave him the invitation but I suppose that he'll still come considering your uncle had just given him a free pass to the Upper Ring!"

"That is a very nice dress. I hope that you didn't spend too much on it for an occasion as little as this," Iroh worriedly said. Zuko had to agree with his uncle. Jin's dress looked extremely expensive. It was made out of silk and the embroidery was much too exquisite for something that was cheap.

"No, I didn't buy this! I've actually had this in my closet for a very long time! Usually I just save it for very special occasions," Jin explained.

"I hope I have something to wear," Zuko said. Jin looked extremely lavish and important. In fact, she looked like royalty. He didn't want to look like a peasant next to her.

"Do not worry nephew. While you were sick, Jin's brother, He Shen, offered to help me pick out your clothes," Iroh said.

Zuko shuddered. He Shen was _weird_ and he had unusual tastes in everything. He was curious and horrified at the same time to find out what his tastes in clothes might be. Jin, noticing the look on his face quickly re-assured him, "Don't worry. He Shen didn't choose anything too stupid for you."

Iroh invited Jin to sit down and he invited her to join them for breakfast. Jin declined saying that she already ate. She explained that her brothers and the rest of the others would arrive in the teashop when the shop is about to open. She just came in a little earlier than the rest of them.

"What's that?" Zuko asked. He pointed at the package that sat on her lap.

"Oh! This?" she laughed jovially before saying, "I almost forgot! I got this for you! It's a gift for the opening of your teashop!"

She handed the package to Iroh. Iroh beamed at her and bowed his head, "You are much too kind!"

"Not at all! You've been so nice to me and my brothers! It's the least I can do!" Jin said.

His uncle started unwrapping the package. Zuko looked over his uncle's shoulder. He was just as curious to see what Jin had given him. Iroh let out a long breath after seeing what was in the package.

In it were piles and piles of Pai Sho tiles. They all gleamed with sheen. Zuko took one and examined it. It was made of porcelain and the different flowers were painted on the tile with such detail that it made Zuko gasp in awe.

Iroh happily hugged Jin.

"I'm glad that you like it Mushi. I know how much you love Pai Sho," Jin said as she patted Iroh in the back.

"In all my years, I have never met a young lady who is kind as well as beautiful," Iroh said as he sat back. He began to examine each Pai Sho tile carefully.

"Where did you get them?" Zuko asked.

"Master Gong of the Potter's Place here in the Upper Ring made them as a favor to me. His wife really loves my flowers," Jin smiled.

Zuko tried to pick a tile up but Iroh slapped his hand away. He pouted at his uncle.

"Be careful, nephew! Each tile is very delicate! Your hands are much too heavy!" Iroh said as he started to arrange them in a box.

"Li must be a very interesting bender with his heavy hands and all…." Jin snickered.

Zuko and Iroh froze in their places before turning to look at each other in eye, their gaze filled with fear. They looked at each other questioningly before turning slowly to look at Jin with a shocked look in their eyes. Jin stared at them with a confused and incredulous expression. Did that mean that Jin knew that they were Firebenders?

"What are you talking about? I'm not a bender…." Zuko babbled nervously.

Jin gave him a shocked look before quickly smoothing out her expression.

"Oh….of course! I knew that! I meant that Li must have been an interesting swordsman. Sometimes I forget that I'm not talking to my brothers and—well I didn't mean it—I meant….I must have forgotten," Jin said. Zuko stared at her suspiciously but was relieved to find that she was smiling again. Zuko sighed in relief. She must've made a simple and honest mistake. That certainly didn't mean that she was on to them or anything. People do that sometimes. It was no big deal.

They continued to talk for awhile. Zuko noticed that Jin kept looking at him with a weird look on her face. Whenever he laughed or shared a joke, she would stiffen and look at him with a confused expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" Jin suddenly said.

"What?" Zuko said.

"Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow…." Jin said as she suspiciously eyed him.

Zuko beamed at her and he optimistically declared, "It's a new day. We've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of my uncle's new tea shop. Things are looking up Jin."

Jin frowned. She didn't look ready to let this go.

"_But you're smiling_," Jin said.

"So?" Zuko said.

"You never smile."

"Weren't you the one who told me that it doesn't matter where you live or what your job is as long as you're happy?"

"Weren't you the one who told me that you want more out of your life than a job serving tea and having a nice apartment?"

"I don't know why you are being so suspicious. I'm smiling because I'm happy."

"But you're never _happy_," Jin said. Her brow furrowed deeper.

Zuko looked slightly annoyed but he continued to beam at her. He edged towards her and draped an arm around her shoulder.

"I have every reason to be happy. I have a new apartment, we're about to have the grand opening and…..I'm sitting here with _you_," Zuko said as he looked at Jin with the most peaceful smile she had ever seen him in.

Jin blushed and she looked away to hide her face. Iroh stared at the two of them happily. His nephew was right. _Things were looking up._ Zuko seemed to have a new outlook in life. Iroh wasn't too sure what had occurred during the time where he was in such a feverish state but he decided that perhaps that was exactly what Zuko needed. He smiled proudly at his nephew.

In an effort to hide her reddening face, Jin retorted, "You know the fever damaged your brain a lot more than I first thought."

Instead of snapping some rude comment like Jin expected him to, Zuko merely laughed.

"I'm just embracing life," Zuko happily said. He cleaned the last of his jook off his bowl before standing up, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll start changing. Uncle, where did you put my new clothes?"

"It's in my room, on top of my tea table," his uncle answered.

"I'll be back shortly. You should start changing too uncle. You wouldn't want to be late for your own opening," Zuko cheerfully said as he started making his way to his uncle's room.

"Of course, nephew," Iroh nodded. He excused himself from Jin and made his way to his room. He looked back to study Jin's expression and was amused to find that Jin still looked extremely suspicious and even slightly confused. He shook his head and entered his room. Zuko had already taken his clothes.

He pulled his yellow tunic out and the green robes he would wear for today. He had never been so happy. His nephew was finally seeing things his way. He was finally embracing life and from the looks of it, he was warming up to the idea of settling down and living a life of peace and prosperity. Iroh chuckled. That was not his true destiny however. It would only be a matter of time before Zuko would realize what his _true destiny _was and by then his mind wouldn't be as clouded with thoughts of his father's love or his blind loyalty to their nation.

Iroh stepped out of his room as he tied the black belt around his waist. _Today was a new day. _

"This is so ridiculous. Why does everyone in here wear layers and layers of clothing?" Zuko scowled. Jin was fixing his collar. As it turned out, He Shen's taste in clothing wasn't too outrageous like he expected—he chose a simple but tasteful set of robes for Zuko. Zuko was actually impressed with He Shen's choice of clothing although he found the layers too annoying.

"Everyone wears layers and layers of clothing in the Earth Kingdom, genius," Jin snickered. Zuko suddenly stiffened out of nervousness.

"Um…yeah. I knew that. Of course, I would know that. Why wouldn't I? I've lived in the Earth Kingdom my whole life," he babbled nervously as Jin successfully finished fixing his collar. Iroh shook his head. Zuko was a bad liar. Iroh was just glad that Jin didn't seem to be an overly suspicious person.

She stepped back and examined him with a critical eye.

"Well…..what do you think?" Zuko spread his arms apart.

Jin smiled and said, "You look very handsome."

Zuko beamed at her. Iroh stared at his nephew happily.

"You two make a lovely couple," Iroh piped up from his place.

"Uncle!" Zuko hissed but Iroh ignored him. He picked his hat up and placed it over the balding spot of his head.

"And how about me? How do I look?" Iroh said.

Jin laughed and said, "You look very cute."

"Cute?" Iroh wrinkled his nose.

"I'm just kidding Mushi. You are very handsome," Jin said as they made their way downstairs. They stepped outside of the apartment complex and started making their way to the teashop.

Throughout their whole trip to the teashop, Iroh talked non-stop about The Jasmine Dragon. He kept on babbling happily about the news blends he planned to create and the function rooms he planned to build once their teashop was established. Zuko felt happy for his uncle. Although he didn't really want this, he was glad to see his uncle in such a jovial state.

"He's so happy," Jin breathed as she watched Iroh talk about his new teashop happily, his hands making wild gestures as he spoke.

Zuko smiled from beside her. In a proud voice he said, "He's living out his dream."

"Are you happy?" Jin asked him.

"I'm very happy for my uncle," Zuko replied.

"No. I meant are you happy with yourself. Right now?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I don't know….it's just that….I thought you had run off."

"Hm?"

"I mean….I knew that you were planning something and you did say that you didn't want to be stuck here—''

"I never said that," Zuko frowned.

"You did."

"I don't remember."

"The point is I thought that you would have been long gone. That's why I went to your apartment the day you became sick. I was worried that you left your uncle all alone."

"But I didn't," Zuko said.

"No, you didn't….and I'm glad that I was wrong. I would have been very sad if you left," Jin smiled.

"I'm very glad that you have very shoddy deductions. I would be very sad if I had run off too," Zuko said as he looked at her. He had a weird smile plastered on his face.

"Shoddy deductions? I see that even though you are '_embracing life_'—'' Jin made quotation marks in the air. "—you are still rude."

Zuko scowled loudly.

Jin laughed and said, "Don't worry! I'm more used to the crankier Li! But I think I kind of like this version of you."

They continued to walk in silence for awhile, listening only to the sound of Iroh's excited babble. Zuko suddenly spoke.

"You are right. I was planning something. I was going to leave Ba Sing Se forever…..." Zuko trailed off. Jin looked at him worriedly.

"But?" Jin prompted, prodding him to continue.

Zuko suddenly broke out into a happy smile. He looked at Jin with an expression she could not understand and he said in a mysterious tone, "But something stopped me."

* * *

More and more of Iroh's invited guests started trickling in at noontime. He Shen was the first to arrive. Zuko had to admit that he looked very handsome; he was wearing a set of neat but elegant robes made out of pure silk. His usually unruly hair was tied neatly in a topknot and held by a headpiece that was oddly similar to Jin's although some tendrils escaped. He proceeded to enthusiastically greet Iroh and shake his hand before singing a song about his new teashop.

"This place is so cool, man!" He Shen said as Jin and him chose a table near the window.

"The kindest thing a man can receive is the support of his friends," Iroh said as he bowed humbly.

He Shen as it turned out bought Iroh a gift. He gave his uncle a very antique instrument called the Pipa. Zuko felt very irritated by Iroh and He Shen's loud voices as they sang another song together.

Jin's oldest brother came moments later. He looked very stiff and formal as usual; his hair was kept in a neat topknot held by a headpiece that looked similar to Jin and He Shen's, his clothes were also made of silk and they looked fancier than He Shen and Zuko's robes put together. He looked at everyone with a cool and condescending eye. He gave a low bow to Iroh before politely expressing his congratulations.

"Congratulations sir. Your teashop is truly admirable and worthy of your stature," Ge Jiang coolly said as he gave a low a bow.

He procured a porcelain teapot set saying that it was his gift to Iroh before taking his seat next to He Shen in the table.

Duan Jie arrived just as everyone started drinking their tea. He was very enthusiastic and hyperactive. He kept going round and round the shop, spouting compliments and congratulations as he examined every inch and corner of the teashop. His hair was still fashioned in the same weird way although he took the time to dress himself properly. His clothes however were made of cotton instead of silk. Nevertheless Zuko thought that he looked respectable enough to be in the Upper Ring.

"My congratulations, Mushi! This teashop is stupendous!" Duan Jie said as he vigorously shook Iroh's hand. He also bought a gift for Iroh which was a decorative sword for him to hang in his shop. Duan Jie took a long time in explaining every excruciating detail as to how he came to forge this. He sat with Jin and her brothers where he and He Shen immediately struck a conversation.

"I say, do you two want a job at the forge. I'll pay! Both of you have such a set of muscles….," Duan Jie exclaimed as he patted Ge Jiang's bicep.

Zuko didn't hear, but he was sure that Ge Jiang gave a polite reply.

Shu arrived next. He looked demure and calm, his hair pleated into a neat braid and he was wearing a good set of cotton clothes. He wore a cap similar to Iroh's and his shoes gleamed with sheen. He gave his congratulations to Iroh before giving his gift which was a scroll about tea. Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle's delight in _tea._Ugh. He was very sure that by then of the week he would drown in tea.

Shu sat next to Duan Jie where he and Ge Jiang immediately struck a conversation about books.

Everything was going extremely well after that. Pao had not yet arrived but that suited Zuko just fine. He hated that cranky, old, whiner-baby. His uncle treated them all to free tea. Everyone in Jin's table cheered. Duan Jie wanted a cup of his uncle's weird new blend, Ge Jiang wanted some black tea, He Shen some Jasmine and Shu ordered for a cup of green tea.

Finally, Zuko turned to look at Jin.

"How about you?" he asked. He readied the order slip.

"Surprise me," Jin smiled.

Zuko smiled back at her.

"What if I give you something horrible?"

"My stomach can take anything," Jin shrugged playfully. Zuko gave her a smirk.

"Then my uncle's new Dung tea would be perfect for you," Zuko teasingly said. Jin wrinkled her nose but she was laughing.

He looked around and saw that more people, aside from those that they invited, started trickling in. He looked at Jin's table and realized that they were very crowded in there. Jin had to tuck her elbows in so that He Shen and Duan Jie could fit. He was about to suggest that they move to a bigger table but saw that more and more people were arriving and they looked content enough. Zuko shrugged and decided to leave them to their own devices.

"Who would have thought when we came to this city as refugees that I'd end up owning my own tea shop? Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you," Iroh said as he clasped a hand on Zuko's shoulder. Iroh noticed that Zuko was mysteriously looking at Jin's direction.

"Congratulations Uncle!" Zuko cheerfully said. He had never been so happy over someone else's joy.

"I'm very thankful," Iroh said as he smiled at his nephew.

"You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city," Zuko confidently said.

"No, I am thankful because so many people have come to show their support," Iroh said as he looked at Jin's table. Everyone waved at him. Iroh waved back.

"But most of all, I'm thankful because you decided to share this special day with me," Iroh said as he put a hand over Zuko's arm. "It means more than you know."

Zuko smiled happily at his uncle and to Iroh's surprise, Zuko bent down and gave his uncle a warm hug. Jin smiled as she looked at the two of them from the table. She had never seen Li in such a happy state. It seemed as if he was really embracing life. Jin sighed. She didn't know what this was but she had a very weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shrugged it off. Why was she being so suspicious? Li was just like every refugee in the city. A man with a second chance at life. And he and his uncle had already done it.

"Now let's make these people some tea!" Zuko enthusiastically said.

Remembering Zuko's awful tea-making skills Iroh quickly said, "Er….perhaps you are better suited to attend to our customers."

Zuko's face momentarily fell before rising back up into an unperturbed smile. Suddenly the doorbell rang and a small but pompous looking man entered the shop. Zuko wrinkled his nose in distaste. It was Pao. Iroh looked at Pao worriedly at first, concerned that he might lash out. Pao however merely stepped forward and awkwardly held his hand out.

"Congratulations, Mushi. I'm very happy for you." The words came out stiff and forced but Iroh good-naturedly accepted them, just the same. Pao gave Iroh an antique painting (in Zuko's opinion it was just plain old and wrinkly) as a gift before proceeding to take his place in Jin's already crowded table.

"Get his order, nephew…." Iroh prodded. He pushed his nephew as Zuko unwillingly stomped towards Pao.

"Your order?" Zuko stiffly asked.

"One lychee please," Pao pompously said. Zuko sighed before stomping away but not before catching Pao muttering under his breath, "Traitors…."

Zuko stormed towards his uncle.

"That man is ridiculous!' Zuko snapped as he shoved the order slip in Iroh's hand.

"Now nephew…be polite. Every customer is treated as guest here in the Jasmine Dragon," Iroh chastised before heading to the backroom to make the tea.

Iroh came back with Jin and the rest's order. Zuko carefully loaded them up in a tray before heading towards Jin's table. Everyone seemed to be deep in conversation. Even Pao was talking with Jin and Pao _hated _Jin.

"Um…..your tea," Zuko awkwardly said. Nobody paid attention to him so Zuko simply gave them their order. He alternately listened to their conversation and placed their teacups in front of them.

"I hear they're going to put fireworks up…." He Shen said.

"I don't think so. The Dai Li are on budget cuts this year," Shu said.

"It won't be as fancy as last year but fireworks are definitely not out of the picture…." Ge Jiang added.

Zuko finally arrived in Jin's side.

"A cup of red tea," Zuko said.

"Oh thanks Li," Jin said as she took the cup from his hands.

"I know that you love sweet tea," he said. Jin took a sip.

"It's great," she absentmindedly said. Her eyes were focused on the table and on everyone around her. She seemed to be just as absorbed in their conversation.

"What's everyone talking about?" Zuko asked curiously.

"You didn't know? The Spring Festival is tomorrow," Jin informed him. Zuko felt so stupid all over again. Of course he must know that! During the three years he had travelled around the Earth Kingdom he knew a lot about this particular holiday. In some Earth Kingdom cities it was nothing important, in some it was a religious holiday and in others, the celebrations they performed were just plain disturbing. Apparently here in Ba sing se, it was a very big deal. Zuko unexpectedly found himself joining the conversation.

"I will probably take my dear daughters out for some rice cakes tomorrow. And perhaps I'll buy the little ones a new dress each," Duan Jie thoughtfully said.

"No one special Duan?" He Shen teasingly said.

Duan Jie gave a look of mock surprise before saying, "Goodness! I am much too old for those things! And besides I love no one but my dear Shai!"

Zuko looked at Jin questioningly.

"Shai is Duan Jie's wife. She died in the war," Jin whispered. Zuko suddenly felt sick in his stomach. Zuko looked over at Shu who looked slightly guilty.

"I'm spending the whole day with Fan. We're going to this new place I've heard about," Shu said.

"Well, I have no time for such nonsense! I'm opening up my teashop. Sales are at least twenty percent higher during this day," Pao snippily said.

"How about you youngsters? Any plans? The Spring Festival is also known as the festival of love…." Duan Jie said as he playfully elbowed He Shen.

He Shen sat back and said, "Well, I'm not working, man! I'll just wander the streets singing love songs ….now Jiang on the other hand…."

Ge Jiang turned his nose up in the air and said, "Me and Yun aren't doing anything special. Just the usual…."

"How about our little Jin? No plans?" Duan Jie said as he leaned forward.

Jin shrugged and said, "I'm afraid not. I'll probably be selling flowers. Sales are good during that time of the year."

"You mean there's no boy?" Shu asked. He pretended to look incensed.

"Not that I know of," Jin said as she started laughing. Zuko suddenly felt his stomach tightened and he felt weird.

"It's the Festival of Love! A young lady as beautiful as you should have no problem with finding a nice boy to be your escort," Duan Jie teased.

"Date," Ge Jiang corrected.

"Yeah Jin! You suck, man! I mean even Ming has a date! And she looks like a rhino-donkey! If she can bag one, why can't you?" He Shen said as he giggled uncontrollably.

"And how about you O great Wandering Singer of Ba Sing Se! You don't have anyone either," Jin pointed out as she slapped He Shen's arm.

"I'm a free spirit. I can't be tied down," He Shen informed her. Jin rolled her eyes.

"Well…Jin can always go with Jiao," Ge Jiang said. Everyone burst out into laughter. Zuko however was frowning. Jiao? That dimwit who constantly flirted with Jin? What do they have in common anyway? Zuko wasn't sure but he felt his ears burn.

Jin growled, "Ugh, you guys are such jerks…."

"I could take you," Zuko suddenly said.

Jin stiffened and everyone around the table looked at Zuko.

"I mean….we could go together—not as….as dates—what I really meant to say was—I mean you shouldn't really be alone….we could go as friends…but if you want you can tell other people that we're not exactly _just friends_…." Zuko was sputtering nonsense after nonsense and his words were running into each other until such time that he was babbling absolute incoherent idiocy.

"Dude, are you asking my sister out on a date?" He Shen suddenly said.

"No!" Zuko defensively said. Okay, it might sound like it but that's not what he meant. He just didn't want Jin to spend the Spring Festival alone and he kind of liked spending time with her. And why was this a big deal? They were just going as friends. Sort of. Zuko mentally cursed himself.

Jin was clouding his judgment. He was becoming more and more impulsive. He never meant to say that. The words just…..came out. He scowled. He shouldn't get too attached.

But shouldn't he?

He was never going home again. What was the point of trying to keep his identity? He'll disappear into Li the nephew of a great teamaker not Prince Zuko heir to the throne. Zuko hung his head in frustration.

"But your uncle's new shop…." Jin worriedly said.

Duan Jie slapped his thigh and threw his head back in laughter, "Mushi wouldn't mind! It's the Fetsival of Love! Why, I'll be surprised if that old geezer didn't have an escort—''

"Date," He Shen corrected.

"But my flowers…" Jin said. She was squirming uncomfortably.

"Flowers can wait Jin. Man, it's the festival of love! I mean I don't have anyone but I'm pretty sure that I'll be taking someone to dinner by the end of the night…." He Shen slyly said.

Jin looked reluctant. For some reason, that made Zuko nervous. He was sweating profusely and his hands started feeling clammy. Why was he so nervous? Who cares if she doesn't say yes?

"I mean you don't have—what I meant was…..if you don't want to you could say no…." Zuko babbled. Everyone around them was silently sniggering.

"Oh but I'd love to! I'd love to go with you tomorrow!" Jin quickly said before Zuko started babbling more stuff. She smiled at him. Things felt severely awkward.

Zuko internally groaned.

What had he done?

"Yeah….I'd love to go with you too….._as friends_," Zuko awkwardly said.

"As friends," Jin repeated. She beamed at him.

Zuko felt extremely stupid for doing that. That was dumb. Why did he just add the "just friends" part? What is wrong with him? Was he really this socially inept?

He felt like slapping himself.

But at the same time he felt a strange sense of happiness wash over him.

* * *

Zuko looked at himself in the mirror and ran a hand over his hair. His uncle of course, found out about it even though he had taken great pains to conceal the fact that he was going around Ba Sing Se with a _girl _on the Festival of Love. Iroh had been very fussy and interfering so far, throwing tips and advices out of nowhere, fixing his collar for the hundredth time and combing his hair over and over again. He couldn't understand what the fuss was. It wasn't even a date. They were just going as friends.

"Uncle, stop!" Zuko snapped. Iroh was desperately trying to flatten his floppy, black hair. Zuko on the other hand knew all too well how extremely dorky he would look if Iroh was the one who would "fix" his hair.

"Remember to be polite, Prince Zuko! A girl loves a perfect gentleman!" Iroh said as he slapped Zuko's hand away.

"For the last time, uncle this is not a date!" Zuko scowled exasperated.

"And compliments! Lots and Lots of compliments! Girls love compliments!" Iroh said. Zuko shrank a little after remembering the compliment he gave Jin during their date. A big appetite? _He really was socially inept. _

"We're just going as friends!"

"I'm not sure what happened during your last date but I'm sure that you did something embarrassing. Try not to do anything stupid," Iroh said as he finished smoothing Zuko's hair down.

"I don't need your advice!" Zuko burst out.

Iroh finished fussing all over him and he stepped back to examine his nephew. Zuko looked very handsome but he also behaved awkwardly. He was fiddling with the hem of his sleeves and his face looked extremely nervous. Iroh chuckled. Before, all his nephew cared about was the Avatar. Now he was getting himself worked up over something as trivial as a date.

"You look very handsome, nephew. Where will you be picking Jin up?" Iroh inquired as Zuko stomped his way out into the living room.

"We're meeting at the Wu Yuan Square in the Lower Ring," Zuko mumbled.

"You mean you're not picking her up? What kind of date are you?" Iroh demanded.

"_It is not a date!"_ Zuko yelled.

"Well, I hope you'll treat her nicely during your _date_—''

Zuko scowled.

"—did you bring enough money for dinner? I know this great Lobster Place in the lower Ring where you could take her," Iroh said as he fixed Zuko's collar again.

Zuko rolled his eyes as he forcefully removed Iroh's hand from his collar.

"Uncle, relax. It's no big deal. We're just friends," Zuko sighed as looked at himself in the mirror. Somehow 'just friends' felt wrong.

His uncle had flattened his hair_ again_. But other than that, Zuko felt pleased with his own appearance.

He took a deep breath before opening up the doors. The cool afternoon air whipped his face.

"Well…..I guess I'll get going…" Zuko trailed off uncertainly.

"Be sure to bring her back before midnight. I know that she has no parents but her brothers are still strict when it comes to curfew," Iroh said as he placed his two hands on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko shrugged them off before muttering a quick goodbye.

Before he left however he said, "Thank you, uncle."

Iroh smiled and seriously said, "Don't screw this up, Prince Zuko."

Zuko nodded just as seriously.

As soon as Iroh closed the door, Zuko messed his hair up.

* * *

Zuko felt stupid as he stood awkwardly in the corner, watching people pass by. He was waiting for Jin in the Wu Yuan Square and so far he was having a very unpleasant experience. He felt nervous and scared about so many things and no matter how hard he tried to stop all these emotions they always bubbled back into the surface. What if he did something stupid or embarrassing to her or to himself? What if he would say something rude or offensive to her? What if tonight will end up being just as embarrassing and awkward as their date? Zuko sighed. He should stop this. This wasn't even a date.

Zuko scowled.

Where was she?

She was supposed to be here three minutes ago.

Zuko started to panic. What if she decided to ditch him? What if she was so incensed with his atrocious behavior in their previous date that she had decided to punish him by not showing up? Wait—this wasn't even a date. They were just going as friends. He knew a punishment was coming. She had to be angry over his awful behavior during their date. No sane girl wouldn't be.

"Li!"

Zuko sighed in relief as he looked across the sea of people. It was Jin and she was making her way towards him. She wore her usual everyday robe but her hair was tied in a ponytail.

"I'm sorry if I came a little late," Jin said as she brushed some dust of her dress.

Zuko looked at her as the green lamps reflected on her face, emphasizing her hazel-green eyes. She looked very beautiful, he grudgingly admitted. He had always known that she looked very beautiful every day. Tonight…..something was just _different_. And for some reason, he couldn't exactly pinpoint the difference.

"It's all right. I wasn't waiting that long…." Zuko muttered as he see-sawed on his heels.

"The traffic of people here is outrageous," Jin said. To Zuko's surprise, she grabbed his hand and started dragging him away from the square.

"You don't need a festival to get this kind of traffic of people. Ba Sing Se is overcrowded enough," Zuko said as he wrinkled his nose. He hated overcrowded places. Which was one of the reasons why he hated Ba Sing Se.

"I'm glad that you haven't completely changed from your usual grumpiness," Jin teasingly said as they weaved through the crowd.

Zuko pretended to look angry but he didn't really feel like snapping at anyone tonight. As their conversation progressed, he started feeling more and more comfortable. He wasn't even sure why he was so nervous before. Maybe it was because some part of him wanted to impress her.

It seemed as if all sorts of people had come out to the streets. There were twice as many vendors as there would usually be. Carts were stationed everywhere. People were shouting and yelling and singing. Some performed magic tricks and puppet shows. Zuko noticed many teenagers, people his own age on the streets too. Many of them were holding their hands or were tucking themselves into a dark corner.

_Two lovers, forbidden from one another_

_A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart._

_Built a path to be together._

They heard a very familiar voice from the corner. Zuko and Jin turned to find He Shen seated on a burlap sack his hands strumming his liuqin, his hair falling all over his face, with about dozen spectators crowding around him. A majority of them were girls who looked love-struck. He Shen gave a quick salute followed by a teasing smirk before turning back to his song.

"Does he ever get tired of singing?" Zuko said in disbelief. No one can sing _that much_.

"Why do you hate singing anyway? I think that it's fun."

"It's annoying."

"You think everything is annoying."

"And you think that everything is fun," Zuko retorted.

"Lighten up, Sir Crankypants. It's the Spring Festival!" Jin said. She was very enthusiastic and her eyes were twinkling with excitement.

Zuko merely stuck his bottom lip out and said, "This holiday is dumb! I don't know why everyone is making a big deal out of it! It's ridiculous and stupid and it's merely a deceitful way flower sellers and chocolate makers do to swindle people out of their money."

"I do agree with you on that part. They did over-commercialize it," Jin said.

They passed by Pao's teashop. It was slightly emptier than most of the shops. Zuko didn't feel like greeting Pao but Jin insisted. She opened one of the windows and enthusiastically greeted him. Zuko reluctantly waved from beside her. Pao just gave them a grudge nod.

They continued to walk, talking of different things. As they passed by an alleyway Zuko was sure he saw that usually calm and collected Ge Jiang giggling and laughing loudly with a girl. They were whispering and stroking each other's hair in the darkness of the alleyway.

"That's Yun," Jin said as she pried him away from the alleyway before Jiang could notice their presence.

"Who's Yun?"

"Obviously Ge Jiang's girlfriend," Jin said.

"Did they meet here in Ba sing Se?" Zuko asked.

"Not really. She's kind of a childhood friend. They just saw each other here again," Jin said.

"Childhood friend?"

"Would you stop staring? Jiang's going to notice!"

"It's just that….it's so weird," Zuko muttered as Jin steered him away.

"What's weird? That my brother is actually capable of having human emotions?" Jin asked playfully.

"It's just that he's so….he's always so cool and collected," Zuko said.

"Not around Yun," Jin snickered.

"I can see that."

"Well, you shouldn't have. He's very touchy when it comes to his love life."

"Why?" Zuko curiously asked.

"I don't know…..maybe it's because he has always wanted to be in control of everything. And being around Yun…..he has no control over _anything_," Jin said.

"So he hates not being in control?"

"Not around Yun. He's perfectly fine with Yun bossing him around. I think that when you meet someone so special…you just act_ different_," Jin chirped.

They entered a street crammed with game booths. Jin's eyes lit up. All around them people were yelling. "Win something for your girl, men!" or "Don't leave your lady, empty handed!" Jin was particularly enamored by everything. She looked around.

Zuko felt uncomfortable. It was as if Jin was expecting him to win her something. Zuko _wanted_ to go to a booth to win her something but that would mean giving other people the impression that they were in a romantic relationship. And as far as he was concerned, their relationship was strictly limited to a friendship. Someone however, managed to hook his hand with a cane and he was dragged towards a booth called "Hit the Sheep-Pig."

"Hey, fella! That's some girl you got there," the man manning the booth said. He gestured towards Jin who was making her way towards them.

"Um….she's not really my girl—''

"She's a beauty! You don't want to leave her empty-handed for the Festival of love!"

"But we're just—''

"Bet you forgot to give her a gift, eh? Big no-no on the festival of love!"

"Actually it's the Spring Festival not the—''

"Hey, doll! I was just telling your boyfriend here about a chance to gallantly win something for you. Name's Pianzi," the man said as Jin neared. He grabbed her by the sleeve and pushed her close towards Zuko. Jin lost her footing and so did Zuko. The two of them fell on the ground with Jin on top of Zuko's chest.

The two of them quickly sprang of each other in embarrassment.

"He doesn't need to win me anything…." Jin edgily said but the man had already shoved three knives into Zuko's hand.

"See that cute platypus bear? You could win your girl that if you could shoot the Sheep-Pig. If you lose, you pay two silver coins, eh? All you need is one shot fella to get your girl something," Pianzi said. Zuko scowled. He was getting annoying. Stupid man.

"No thanks," Zuko said as he attempted to give the knives back.

"Well….kid. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your girl, eh? Come on!" the man prodded. Zuko scowled.

"No….I don't really…" Zuko muttered.

"It's quite alright. We're not really dating," Jin tensely said. Zuko groaned. Things were turning way too awkward.

"Just shoot the stupid Platypus Bear, fella," Pianzi said.

"Oh…Li you don't have to. Come on…..we better get going," Jin said. She tugged at Zuko's arm. Zuko made a move to follow her but everything was once again disrupted by Pianzi.

"What? You scared, fella? You scared, Li?" he called.

Zuko's temper flared. Jin stubbornly tugged at his ahnd.

"Don't be stupid. He's trying to bait you. That's what all good swindlers do," she whispered.

But Zuko was no longer listening to her.

"Now I understand that you're scared, fella. Most people couldn't even make it past a meter, eh? You're probably scared that you'll embarrass yourself in front of your girl!" Pianzi expertly crafted his face into a most infuriating expression.

Zuko narrowed his eyes and he decided to show that dimwit exactly what he was asking for. He grabbed the three knives and felt them around his fingers. This was just like firebending. Only, he was shooting with knives. He threw the first knife. It narrowly missed the Sheep-Pig.

Pianzi laughed.

"It's all right fella. You got two more tries," Pianzi said as he patted Zuko's back. Zuko gritted his teeth.

He decided to concentrate better. He flicked his wrist and the knife sailed into the Sheep-Pig's eye. Zuko smiled triumphantly as the man scowled. He grabbed the stuffed Platypus Bear and grudgingly handed it over to Zuko.

"Here, fella," he muttered stiffly. Zuko took it and turned to look at Jin.

He suddenly felt really awkward.

"Um…here," he held it out for her.

"Thanks Li," Jin reluctantly took the stuffed animal.

Suddenly Jin was looking at him with a sly look.

He knew that look all too well.

"I'll take only if—''

Zuko wrinkled his nose and said, "Only if what?"

"I'll only take it if you let me win _you_ a prize," Jin said as she edged closer to him. She stabbed a finger at his chest.

Zuko wasn't sure but he felt as if she was challenging him. And he was never one to back down from a challenge. He smirked at her and said, "You can try."

Jin shook her head and laughed before marching over to the man who had previously manned the booth. She took the three knives and readied herself.

"Oh-ho! So your girl wants to win you a prize, eh? So much for chivalry!" Pianzi howled. Jin ignored the man while Zuko tried his best to restrain himself.

"Careful, darling. You don't want to injure that pretty little face of yours, eh?" Pianzi said as he contined to laugh.

Jin felt the knife around her finger and she examined the Sheep-Pig. Finally, after a few minutes she flicked her wrist and threw the knife at the Sheep-Pig. The knife sailed across the booth, barely missing the man's head and into the Sheep-Pig's center. Zuko snickered as the man's jaw dropped. He handed another Platypus Bear to Jin.

Jin held the bear out, "For you, O Great Tea Server."

Zuko laughed. Although he was impressed with Jin, he insisted that she keep the two platypus bears.

"We had a deal," Jin pouted.

"There is no way I am bringing that Platypus Bear around."

"You're too conscious. Are you ashamed that a girl won a stuffed animal for you?"

"No!"

"Or are you jealous that I hit the Sheep-Pig in one try?"

"You are too confident," Zuko teasingly said as poked her in the ribs. Jin giggled and side-stepped away from him.

The two of them ambled towards a cart that was selling fried rice. Zuko insisted that he pay for the meal. After many protests, Jin finally gave in and allowed Zuko to pay ten silver coins to the man. They sat on a bench in one of the streets and they started to eat their fried rice.

Everything was fine at first. They continued to talk and bicker and tease each other about pointless matters. Zuko however, started feeling awkward after realizing that another couple was seated a bench next to them and the pair were kissing each other and stroking each other's hands. Zuko tried his best to keep his slowly flaming cheeks at bay. But then he realized that they were surrounded by couples, all kissing or holding each other's hands and he felt as if they were all pressuring him to do _something _with Jin.

Beside him, Jin seemed completely oblivious to anything that was happening around them.

Zuko began to fidget in his seat uncomfortably. He started to twiddle his thumbs and look around. Say something, he willed his brain. Just anything. Anything to make things less awkward.

"This fried rice tastes different," Zuko said in an attempt to distract himself.

"How so? They taste like they always do," Jin said as she took a big bite.

"Fried Rice tastes different from where I am from," Zuko said. His mouth involuntarily watered as he remembered the ample servings of spices and curry on the fried rice.

"Where you're from? I though you travelled."

"What I meant is the place where I was born…."

"Which was where?"

"Just a small village a few miles from here," Zuko automatically said as he remembered that little boy Lee. The boy he had saved from the village thugs.

"How do they do it there?"

"More meat," Zuko flatly said. That part was partially true. Meat was abundance in the Fire Nation.

Zuko suddenly realized his mistake. He quickly tried to erase it by quickly steering away from the topic.

"You know I never really knew what the Spring Festival was about," Zuko said.

"It's from an old Earth Kingdom folktale. It isn't really supposed to be important but I supposed everyone blew it up to such a big affair since, as you so eloquently put it, it gives flower-makers and chocolate-makers a chance to swindle people out of their money," Jin laughed.

"What's the myth?"

"It's not very interesting."

"I'm still curious."

Jin sighed and started, "There was once a warrior and a princess who loved each other very much but alas! He had to go to war. She made him promise to send her a sign that he would be alive. He said that he would send her a flower every month to prove that he was alive."

"Let me guess. He died," Zuko said. Stories like these were so obvious.

"Yup. He died but before he breathed his last breath he instructed his comrades to send a bloom every month to his love so as not to break her heart with the news of his death—''

"So she still thinks he's alive?"

"They say that she's still waiting for him. Even to this day," Jin said as she finished the last of her fried rice.

"That's pointless."

"I think that it's kind of romantic."

"Yeah? She's going to live most of her life waiting for someone that's never coming back."

"But the flower gives her hope."

"False hope."

"You are so negative."

"And you are way too optimistic," Zuko shrugged as they moved away from the street. He was itching to get away from all the couples.

Jin huffed but she was smiling so Zuko knew that she wasn't really angry.

They entered into a new district of the Lower Ring. This part of the city was more and crowded and it was louder. A group of people bringing an assortment of instruments stood in a little platform and they were playing something very lively. Some people sat on little benches but most were condensed in the center where they dance and sang and laughed loudly. Jin started laughing and swaying along with the music. She shoved the two Platypus-Bears in Zuko's hand. She started to move her feet and clap her hands.

Zuko felt uncomfortable once again. He didn't know how to dance. Back in the fire Nation Academy, dancing was not allowed. It wasn't even tolerated.

"I love this song!" Jin yelled over the din of the noise.

"Yeah….it sounds really….fun," Zuko muttered as Jin began to join in the dance.

To Zuko's horror, she grabbed his arm and tugged him forward.

"Dance with me!" she said.

"Um…..it's all right…" Zuko said. He clutched the two stuffed animals nervously.

"Come on Li! Let loose! Have fun!" Jin said. Her face was very warm and inviting. Zuko was almost tempted to actually dance. _Almost._

"I'll just stay here and guard your Platypus-Bears!" Zuko said. He stubbornly hung back.

Jin much to his annoyance was just as stubborn and persistent as him.

"It's the Spring Festival! It's supposed to be fun and lively!" Jin said. She began to move her hips.

"It's okay….I'll just stay here…."

"No way!"

"What?"

"You don't know how to dance!" Jin said as she burst into laughter. Zuko scrunched his nose up.

His temper and pride got the better of him.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I can dance," he scoffed.

"No, you can't!"

"Yes, I can!"

"Then dance with me," she said in a much softer voice. Her eyes twinkled as she held her hand out. There was no way he's going to do this. He'll just end up embarrassing himself. Zuko shook his head but to his horror he found his hand creeping towards hers. What was he doing? It was as if he never thought things through whenever he was around her. This can't be happening.

He grabbed her hand, dropped the two stuffed animals and she pulled him into the center where many people their own age were dancing.

Jin hopped on one foot towards Zuko, alternating feet with each hop, passing her palms in front of her face as she does so. Zuko stiffly stood in front of her. He tried to dance but he found himself being as stiff as a board.

"What are you doing!" Jin yelled.

"What are _you_ doing?" Zuko said as Jin began to move around him in a circle.

"I'm dancing!" Jin laughed. She began to spin and twirl and perform elaborate gestures with her hands and legs.

"I'm not sure I know this dance….." Zuko edgily said.

Jin held her hand out to him again.

"Take my hand," she said.

"I don't know….I just realized that my shoes aren't really for dancing," Zuko said. He kicked at his heels.

"Take my hand," Jin said a little bit more firmly.

Zuko reluctantly took her hand.

"It's very easy!" Jin said. She attempted to show him her footwork.

The moves were simple enough but they seemed complicated since Jin's feet were so light and quick.

"Now your turn!" Jin said. Zuko reluctantly followed her. He smiled triumphantly after realizing that he was able to copy her movements.

"That's great! Now your hands!" Jin said. She began to move her palms in elaborate gestures.

Zuko followed her.

"You're doing great, Li! Just follow the beat!" Jin said as she began to dance once again. Zuko couldn't believe it but after awhile he found himself _dancing._ And the most surprising thing was that it wasn't even as horrible as he imagined it to be.

"What next?" Zuko asked.

"We dance together!"

Jin took his hand and she spun, twirling into the right direction. Zuko awkwardly danced in his place. Jin seemed to notice that he still didn't know how to dance with a pair properly since she danced towards him.

"Dance with me!"

"I don't know how," Zuko finally admitted.

"It's very easy, Li! It's like Dual Dao swords! We're two parts of the same whole!" Jin said. Zuko smiled, encouraged. He took her hand, spun her around until she was two meter's length away from him.

He gritted his teeth and began to perform the moves she taught him. This was a little like bending. Only, there was no fire or breathing involved. Suddenly, he had an idea. Perhaps if did some bending moves….

Zuko crouched down and did a bending move Jin. He looked at Jin and saw that she was impressed. He stood back up and together they linked their wrists together.

"So you can dance," Jin said as they continued to move in a circle, their wrists still attached to each other.

"And you said Dual Dao not Double Swords," Zuko smirked as he spun. Jin laughed.

The two of them moved and dance with each other in a circle. Their dance with each other grew more and more elaborate. Jin started cart wheeling in the air and they began to kick over one another's head. It was as if they were fighting….but dancing at the same time. Zuko noticed that a few people had stopped dancing and they were now looking at the two of them.

Jin began to perform dance moves while crouching and Zuko followed her suit. For the begin finish they spun around each other on the ground until they progressed into a standing position with their wrists linked to each other once again. The music stopped and a wave of applause echoed through the whole center. Jin blushed. Zuko wondered if it because of the crowd or because of the heat.

Zuko was breathing hard and so was Jin.

"That was fun," Zuko said. He was excited for the next dance.

"And you didn't want to…" Jin laughed.

"When you were flying in the air I swore people looked as if they're socks had been knocked off the. That was amazing!"

"Not as amazing as you doing that crouch-thing! "

They continued to talk about the dance when the music played again. This time it was softer and slower. Zuko looked around and saw that everyone was now pressing themselves loser to their pairs. Zuko fidgeted in his place. He looked at Jin who was starting to look uncomfortable. She was looking around and she was see-sawing in her place.

She looked really pretty in the moonlight. Zuko fiddled his thumbs. Everyone was moving and dancing now. They were the only couple who stayed glued to their places. He should do something. Maybe he should say they should get going. No, that was too dumb.

"Wanna dance?" Zuko found himself saying. He mentally slapped himself as he held his hand out. Jin was making him think differently. He would have never said this under normal circumstances. Why was he acting so stupidly?

Jin broke out into a smile and took his hand. Zuko pulled her close and dropped his hands to her waist. They began to move with the rhythm. Zuko tried to avoid Jin's eyes but he found himself looking back at her.

She looked pretty, he was forced to admit in his head. The light from the lanterns cast a pale glow over her skin and it emphasized her hazel-green eyes. Her nose looked so cute too, Zuko grudgingly admitted. It was small and finely sculpted and so different from his pointed one. Zuko frowned. What on earth was he doing! He must say _something._

The music became dreamier and Zuko unexpectedly found himself drawing closer to her.

"Dancing is pretty fun," Zuko said.

"Yeah it is…." Jin murmured. She looked distracted.

He felt very distracted too.

He wished the music would stop.

"There's something I want to tell you…."

"Yeah?" Jin said.

"I never got a chance to apologize for our date."

"Oh that! Never mind! It's no big deal," Jin said.

"It's not that I didn't like it .The kiss I mean—er what I meant was…..Actually I kind of liked it but I'm not used to stuff like that—''

"I kind of liked it too," Jin smirked.

The two of them burst into laughter.

Zuko twirled. She spun before landing back into his arms.

"I used to hate dancing."

"Oh, really?" Jin said.

"Yeah….but now I like it. I realized that it's not that hard. Dancing really is like Dual Dao. Two parts of the same whole," Zuko murmured.

"Two parts of the same whole," Jin repeated under her breath.

"Do you wanna maybe go out sometime?" Zuko blurted out before he could stop himself. He groaned internally. What had he just done? Why was he so stupid? Whatever possessed him to say that?

Maybe it was because she looked so pretty in the light. Or maybe it was her smile which was so disarming that it made him forget about his common sense or anything else.

Jin looked confused and she started at him quizzically.

"I mean you don't have to—if you don't want—you don't—we could go as friends….."

"I'd—I'd love to," Jin said stammering for the first time.

The music stopped. The two of them sprang away from each other as if scalded. Zuko began to twiddle his thumbs while Jin looked down.

"I know this great lobster place we could go," Zuko muttered.

"Oh…that's great! Tomorrow night?" Jin said without looking at him in the eye.

"Yeah….and I could pick you up to your house…." Zuko muttered

"That would be nice," Jin awkwardly said. Zuko groaned.

"Okay…."

"Okay…."

Jin broke out into a wide smile. Zuko found himself smiling back at her.

For some reason, he wasn't so mad at himself anymore.

* * *

Iroh nearly choked on his pudding when he found out that Zuko had a date the next night. Zuko was a bundle of nerves. He fussed over his clothes, he fussed over the restaurant, he fussed over his hair—and Zuko wasn't even a fussy person. Iroh watched in total shock as Zuko once again decided to change his outfit.

"I think this one is too formal. Maybe I should wear this one but with these pants…." Zuko muttered as he laid his clothes out.

"So is this a date," Iroh said.

"No! It's more like…..two friends going on a dinner…" Zuko muttered.

Zuko finally decided on what clothes he planned to wear. Iroh gave him advices all throughout the whole preparation. His uncle inserted a few winks and teases as he gave Zuko some advices. Zuko tried his best to ignore it all.

Finally once he was ready he stepped out of their apartment.

"Nephew! Nephew!"

Zuko scowled and turned to look at Iroh. Iroh was bringing a small bundle of flowers with him.

He thrust them in Zuko's hands.

"A girl loves little gifts," Iroh said.

Zuko solemnly nodded.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Zuko returned. Iroh sat on his couch excitedly.

"How was it?" he asked.

"I asked her out again. I have another date," Zuko said in disbelief. Iroh prodded Zuko for more comments but all he got were, "I can't believe it" or "I'm so dumb" before Zuko hurried to his room.

Zuko lay back in his bed and thought about what happened tonight.

It was very embarrassing to say the least. He gave her the flowers but as it turned out she was very allergic to that kind of flower. He spilled some sauce all over her dress while he was getting the food. Jin was very cool about it but that did not stop him from getting embarrassed. Then there were the awkward dinner conversations. He had no idea what to say. What was he supposed to do? He didn't even know what kind of relationship they had. Were they friends? Were they dating?

Why was he even thinking this?

The night ended decently however. They had eased into a conversation. They walked around Ba Sing Se, they fed pigeon-hawks and they sat in one of the lower walls. Jin looked really pretty that night. And her smile was so charming.

That made him ask her out again on the next nig

Zuko groaned and mumbled into the pillow, "What's wrong with me?"

* * *

Dates seem multiply, Zuko noticed. He soon found himself going on a date with her every night and they did just about anything. They went through the library, they had a picnic, they ate lunch, they watched puppet shows and they played some games. Sometimes they went to the coal mines to practice Dual Dao swords (although Zuko wasn't sure how that could be considered as a date).

He picked her up every night. Ge Jiang and He Shen were now accustomed to his presence every time at sundown. It was two train rides to the lower Ring so Zuko had to leave the shop early. Jin felt ashamed but Zuko told her not to worry about it. They agreed not to mention it.

He didn't know why he liked spending so much time with her.

Maybe it was the way she took his awkwardness and clumsy conversation with a smile. Maybe it was because she didn't try to kill him. Maybe it was because she didn't lie to him. Maybe it was because she just made him forget about everything horrible in his life.

On their twelfth date they ended up chasing each other in the dark alleyways. Jin tripped on the rock and she on top of him. For some reason he didn't feel as embarrassed.

Their noses touched and Zuko felt his arms tingle. Zuko laughed as he helped her up. He leaned against the wall and Jin drew closer to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and Zuko found himself placing her hands on her hips.

"You look very handsome when you smile. You should smile more often," she murmured.

Their faces were in very close proximity now.

"I am? Oh—uh…thanks?" he awkwardly said.

He then found himself adding, "You're very pretty too."

They were drawing closer and closer towards each other. Zuko felt nervous but he wasn't afraid. Just as their lips were about to touch a Dai Li guard came and told them that he was doing some check-ups. Zuko found himself scowling in frustration.

"Stupid Dai Li," he muttered as he took Jin home.

* * *

When he entered the apartment he made up his mind.

He was going to tell her.

He just had to. He couldn't keep lying to her. Especially when things were progressing between the two f them. He wanted this to go further.

He told his uncle about his plan and Iroh was less than eager about ti.

"She'll hate you."

"No, she won't" Zuko stubbornly said.

"Prince Zuko, she has been hurt by the fire Nation. I'm sorry but you can't expect her to understand," Iroh said.

"I can't keep lying to her either!" Zuko snapped.

"How are you going to tell her?" Iroh sighed resigned.

"Um…"

"Start practicing. In front of me," his uncle prodded.

"Um…hi Jin. I just wanted you to know that I'm not from the Earth kingdom. I'm from the fire Nation—''

His uncle began to wail and cry.

"What are you doing!"

"She might be the crying type."

"Ugh! Stop it!" Zuko snapped.

"I'm just trying to help…."

"Forget it! I'll solve this myself!" Zuko said as he stormed back to his room.

* * *

The next day he had everything planned out. After dinner he started tugging at her sleeves and he started pulling her someplace.

"What're you doing?" Jin laughed.

"There's something I want to show you," Zuko said as they ran together.

He took her to the Firelight Fountain and as he expected they weren't lit. the earth king and his Dai li seemed to be in budget cuts. Jin's eyes lit up.

"The Firelight Fountain!"

"Yeah…"

"But they aren't lit," she said her face falling.

"That's kind of what I wanted to show you," Zuko muttered nervously. His heart was pounding at what her reaction might be. Would she hate him? Would she dump him?

"Will I close my eyes?" Jin asked. She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't decipher.

"No…..let them stay open," Zuko said.

"Step back," he ordered. He did a quick meditation before doing it.

Using his pointer and middle finger he lit all the lamps, one by one with small jets of fire. When all the lamps were lit he shut his eyes and waited for the screams and for the angry accusations.

There was silence.

He turned around slowly and was slightly shocked to see that Jin didn't look the least bit afraid. Instead, she looked happy.

"They're so beautiful Li!" she said as she clapped her hands.

Zuko slacked his jaw.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm appreciating the fountain," Jin serenely said.

"Shouldn't you be running in fear? Yelling at me? Trying to turn me into the Dai Li?"

"Why would I do that? They'll kill you for being a Firebender," Jin frowned.

"Wait—what? You knew? But…but…but how!" Zuko sputtered

Jin laughed as she neared towards him.

"Ever since you lit those lamps during our first date, I knew that you were a Firebender from the start. I mean what was I supposed to believe? That magical sprites lit those lamps for you?" Jin laughed.

"You knew…" Zuko said in shock.

"And being the circus? Please, Li! I'm not that dumb!"

"But—''

"Not to mention you know nothing about Earth Kingdom culture!" Jin snickered.

"So—''

"And you look nothing like a person from the earth kingdom! You're too pale!"

"You knew and you didn't tell me?" Zuko snapped remembering those times where he had severely embarrassed himself.

"It was fun watching you fall all over yourself as you tried to keep your cover. And besides, I wanted you to tell me when you are ready," Jin said.

"Does your brothers know?"

"I didn't tell them at first but Ge Jiang and He Shen knew right away when they saw you. They've had too much experience with Firebenders," Jin said.

"Are they mad?"

"Mad at what? That I'm dating a Firebender?"

"Yeah."

"Only, Jiang. But he'll get over it," Jin shrugged.

Zuko found himself laughing loudly. He pulled her close.

"So you know?"

"Yes."

"And you're not mad?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're just like everyone else in here. You want a second chance at life."

"You don't hate me?"

"I couldn't even I tried."

And he kissed her. He kissed her right then there. He was so happy that he could feel himself burst. Their lips locked with each other for what seemed like the longest time when they broke apart.

He felt so happy. He felt…peaceful.

She kissed him again.

And he completely forgot his past.

He forgot about the fire Nation.

He forgot about his honor.

He forgot about the avatar.

He breathed as they broke apart, "Agni…."

* * *

Zuko was in a very happy mood the next day. He served the customers with a happy smile. He didn't grump or complain. He told Iroh all about last night. Iroh was glad that Jin was very understanding. He was glad that Zuko had found happiness here in Ba Sing Se. Things were finally looking up.

"Uncle, I need 2 jasmine, one green and one lychee!" Zuko said as he served some customers.

"I'm brewing as fast as I can!" Iroh called back happily.

Unbeknownst to them, Katara stood in the corner, a look of pure shock on her face. Silently, she turned around and left eager to put the person who had caused so much damaged to her and her friends in his place.

She ran to the Earth King.

* * *

Zuko hurriedly swept up for the night. He and Jin had date tonight and he didn't want o be late. The shop was busier than most days so he had to stay for the afternoon. Suddenly a man entered their premises.

"A message from the royal palace," he said as he bowed. He handed the scroll over to Iroh.

Iroh looked shocked.

"I….I can't believe it…."

"What is it uncle?' Zuko asked as he hurriedly walked towards Iroh.

Iroh said, elated, "Great news! We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!"

* * *

_I'm so sorry that it took me forever to update this. I had no internet access for two weeks. So there you have it. They're officially dating. _

_Thanks to those who read this or added this story to their favorites._

_Special thanks to:_

_Alana C. Jones: Your review made my day._

_SkorpionQueen012 and ArrayePL for the comments. Keep the reviews up._


	8. Part VIII

**Burning Bright**

_Part VIII_

It was the night before their meeting with the Earth King and so far, they were bogged with preparations. Zuko had to cancel his date with Jin, much to his chagrin, to help his uncle prepare the various tea leaves they might use. He had also spent the whole day buying new clothes for him and his uncle so that the two of them may look presentable in front of the Earth King.

"You might need to tie your hair in a topknot," Iroh said as he carefully folded the porcelain tea set Ge Jiang gave him into a clean cloth.

Zuko looked at himself in the mirror and ruffled his floppy, black hair. He tried to tie it into a neat bun but he discovered that it was still too short to form a proper topknot.

"My hair's not long enough," he said as he dropped his hands to the sides.

"Well…at least try to make it look decent when we go to the audience with the Earth King. We want to look respectable. His word could bring great wonders for our teashop," Iroh said as he started individually packing the tea leaves.

"My hair looks fine!' Zuko snapped peevishly.

"Why are you so cranky today? We're going to meet the Earth king!"

Zuko huffed. He wasn't really sure why he was in such a sour mood. Perhaps it was because he had missed another date with Jin. Perhaps it was because serving royalty is like being slapped in the face since he was once royalty himself.

Or perhaps it was because Jin was acting so weirdly during the past couple of days.

Whenever they went out together she often look distracted and she no longer participated in their conversations with as much zest as she usually does. She often looked disheveled and pale although she often attributed her worn-out appearance and strange behavior over the fact that she and her oldest brother, Ge Jiang, were fighting a lot more. He often tried to pry some answers from her but all he got were unfinished sentences and cryptic comments.

Zuko wondered if she was secretly angry with him for being a Firebender. That she was not _completely_ fine with the fact that he had lied to her for the past few weeks. Jin had the habit of being obscenely optimistic. Of always covering up or shrugging off the bad things in the world. Of always being in a happy state of denial. It's quite possible that she was slightly bothered with him being a Firebender at least to some extent. Her mother had died because of the Fire Nation so that theory wasn't really far-fetched.

Or it could be that Ge Jiang was less than pleased with how far their relationship was going. He had always wondered why Ge Jiang treated him and his uncle in a cool manner despite the fact that he and his uncle had always been nice towards him. Perhaps _he_ was the source of all Jin and Ge Jiang's arguments. He suddenly felt guilty.

Zuko's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Zuko told his uncle. His uncle nodded, distracted with all the tea leaves he was holding.

Zuko hurried over to the door to answer it. His eyes widened in shock and glee when he discovered that it was Jin.

"Hey," he said as he made way to let her in.

"Hey," Jin smiled as she entered their apartment.

"How'd you get her so fast?" Zuko inquired.

"I have my ways," Jin mysteriously said.

He led her to the veranda. The two of them leaned against the railings.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Let's just say…..a lot of sneaking was involved," Jin slyly said.

Zuko laughed and together they lapsed into a comfortable conversation. Zuko however noticed that something was horribly wrong. Jin's eyes looked weary and tired and her hair looked slightly messy.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned. He edged towards her.

"Of course I'm okay," Jin said.

"No you're not."

"I'm perfectly fine, Li. It's all in your head."

"You're smiling weird."

"Excuse me?"

"_You're smiling weird."_

"I'm just smiling. Doesn't that mean that I'm perfectly fine?" Jin laughingly said as she tried to veer away from Zuko. Zuko caught her with his hands and drew her closer towards his chest using her waist.

"No, that doesn't. I know you too well," Zuko murmured as Jin pressed her head on his shoulder. He realized that she was really tall. She was only a few inches shorter than him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I know that you are weird enough to pretend that everything is fine when it obviously is not."

"Really?" Jin smirked as Zuko stroke her hair.

"You're making your sad smile."

"_My sad smile_?" Jin said in between giggles.

"Your sad smile. I can tell the difference when you're smiling for real and when you're just forcing it," Zuko said.

"Well…I'm smiling for real now," Jin slyly said. She turned to look at him and their noses touched.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jin said as Zuko leaned forward and kissed her.

They broke apart and Zuko laughed and kissed her forehead.

"But seriously. What's wrong?" he murmured into her forehead.

"Hm?"

"Don't think that you could distract me off that easily. Tell me what's bothering you," Zuko said. He felt Jin sigh and he knew that she was ready to tell him. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer but at the same time he wanted to know what was bothering Jin and he wanted to fix it. He hated seeing her in this state. He wanted to do anything that could make her smile _genuinely _again.

"Did you have a fight with Jiang again?" Zuko asked when Jin didn't answer. Jin stiffened and Zuko felt his heart pound. He was relieved however to find that Jin didn't break away from him. Instead she merely began to make shapes on his shoulder with her pointer finger.

"No, we didn't fight," she shortly said.

"Then what? What happened?" he demanded a little more firmly. He really wanted to dissect through her strange behavior.

Jin said, "It's not a fight. It's nothing like that…..it's just that….we received some really troubling news."

"What?"

"Something's really,_ really_ wrong here in Ba Sing Se. But….." she sighed before continuing, "Maybe it's nothing."

"What's wrong here in Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked, a little more concerned.

It was at that untimely moment that Iroh chose to interrupt them by calling out to his nephew, "Nephew! Who's at the door?"

"It's just me Mushi," Jin laughingly said as Iroh stepped into the veranda. Zuko frowned as Jin broke free from his grasp and stepped towards his uncle to give him a big, warm bear hug.

"My! You look lovelier with each passing day!" Iroh said as he hugged her back.

"And you never seem to run out of compliments with each passing day," Jin smirked as she straightened up again.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you and my nephew," Iroh said after noticing Zuko's annoyed expression.

"Oh no….you didn't bother us at all. How's the teashop? I've heard that word spread even to the Earth King!" Jin said conversationally. All traces of her looking worn-out immediately faded. If Zuko didn't know her that well he would've thought that everything was perfectly fine in her life.

"Everything is going along wonderfully. I am very thankful for all the blessings I have received. It would be very wonderful if you came with us to our audience with the Earth King," Iroh said.

Zuko perked up considerably.

"Yeah! You should come with us!" he excitedly said.

Jin smiled but she shook her head, "Oh no….it's okay. I don't want to impose. This is a thing that's supposed to be between you and Li and—''

"But I want you to impose," Zuko said as he draped an arm around her waist.

"And so do I. I'm sure that the Earth king would be very much delighted with you," Iroh said.

"It's alright. I can't really go anyway. Me and my brothers have to do something important," Jin declined.

"Well I don't want to ruin your plans. But if we are ever asked to serve tea to the Earth king again then I hope you will be able to make it," Iroh said.

"Of course," Jin nodded.

"Now if you excuse me, I must attend to the preparations. I'll leave you and my nephew alone now. The Spirits know how impatient he can get," Iroh said as he winked at Zuko. Zuko scowled as Jin tried to repress a giggle.

As soon as Iroh left Jin immediately began ruffling his hair.

"You should make this neater. You're about to meet the Earth king after all," Jin said as she ran a hand through his hair. Zuko relished the nice sensation he felt whenever Jin ruffled his hair.

Jin laughed as Zuko tickled her sides. "And_ you_ should stop trying to distract me."

As soon as Zuko finished tickling her, her face melded into a very serious expression. She stared at him squarely in the eye and said, "So you're serving tea to the Earth King?"

"Yeah. It's all that uncle could talk about," Zuko said as he rolled his eyes.

"Promise me something."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful," Jin said as she began to straighten his collar.

"What?"

"Something's going on in the Earth King's palace. _Something terrible_. I just want you to keep both of your eyes wide open, okay?" Jin said.

"Is that what you're worried about?" Zuko asked.

Jin wordlessly nodded.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself," Zuko laughed.

Jin frowned and said peevishly, "This nothing you should take lightly of! Jiang said—''

Jin immediately shut her mouth.

"Jiang said what?" Zuko curiously demanded.

"Nothing. Ge Jiang said nothing," Jin said. She shook her head rapidly.

"No, he said something. Tell me."

"I can't tell you anything. Not until we're sure. "

"Sure about what?"

"Just promise me that you'll be very careful," Jin said. She looked at him determinedly in the eye.

"Be careful about what? We're just serving tea," Zuko said. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from his mouth.

"I have a bad feeling about this Li," Jin frowned.

"All right. I'll be careful," Zuko assured her.

He realized that things had become slightly tenser between them. In an effort to lighten things up again, he jokingly asked after realizing that Jin hadn't asked for his real name yet, "So….do you want to know my real name?"

Jin laughed and edged closer towards him, pulling him closer towards her with his collar. Her eyes looked bright and they twinkled but at the same time they looked very fathomless.

"Does it matter?" she asked.

"No. My name is Li and my past doesn't matter now. My name is Li, I live in Ba Sing Se and I like a crazy, weird…."

Jin pretended to look offended.

"….and absolutely beautiful girl named Jin," Zuko said.

Jin laughed. She kissed his cheek and murmured into his ear in a strangely sad tone, "Then I don't _want_ to know your name."

* * *

The sun soared high up into the middle of the sky the next day and so did Zuko's spirits. They were set to serve tea to the Earth King today and his uncle had spent most of the morning trying to neaten his hair. Despite waking up to a rather foul mood, his uncle's enthusiasm was infectious and he soon found himself being as excited as his uncle.

However, he had to admit that he was slightly bothered with the conversation he had with Jin yesterday. Be careful? Be careful of what? He frowned. Jin was getting more and more cryptic. She told him that she received some troubling news. All he could understand was that something bad was going on in the palace. But she and her brothers still weren't sure. He didn't quite believe it but he decided to pack his Dual Dao Swords just in case her warning might prove true.

"What are you doing?" Iroh asked as he saw Zuko stuffing the swords into a ratty bag.

"What does it look like? I'm packing my swords."

"What on earth for? We're serving tea to the Earth King! The Dai Li will throw you out even before you enter the gates if they find out you've brought_ those_ with you," Iroh said, alarmed.

Zuko sighed and said, "Something's going on in the Earth King's palace."

"Oh?"

"Something horrible," he said. He started to feel stupid. How was he supposed to explain this to his uncle when he wasn't even sure what 'something horrible' was exactly?

"What kind of thing is so horrible that you have to bring your swords along?" Iroh demanded.

Zuko sighed and after much prodding he explained to his uncle the conversation he had with Jin last night. Iroh listened carefully. Just as Zuko finished talking a loud knock resonated from the door.

"I'll get it," Iroh said. He pointed at the swords and shook his head, clearly sending the message that he didn't want the swords along. Zuko huffed and decided not to argue with his uncle. It was his big, special day after all and besides if any situation arose he would be able to defend himself well enough without his swords.

"Greetings, most honorable teamaker. I am here to escort you to the Earth King's palace," he heard a small but stately voice say.

"So soon? My nephew and I haven't finished our preparations yet," he heard Iroh say.

"It is imperative that you will not be late."

"Give us three more minutes to get the tea leaves down…."

"Very well."

"Wait here."

His uncle bustled into the kitchen. They had finished their preparations so Zuko could only guess that his uncle wanted to talk more about what Jin had said. Iroh looked like his usual happy, joyous state although he did notice that Iroh shows signs of worry.

"So…."

"Jin is a very kind and genuine and wonderful girl. And I have no doubt that her warning must be taken seriously. Her brothers are very perceptive of what is going on around them and I know that they must have noticed something strange during the many trips they have had to the Upper Ring."

"Then let me bring my swords," Zuko insistently said.

"Or perhaps it is such a little thing. You said it yourself. Jin and her brothers aren't sure yet. We shouldn't make a spectacle of ourselves in an event this big," Iroh firmly said. He put Zuko's swords away.

Zuko sighed defeated.

"I guess you're right," he conceded.

Iroh nodded, satisfied. He carried the ornate white box and gestured Zuko to the living room where their escort waited.

"Now let's go serve some tea!" Iroh said.

Zuko frowned. He started feeling funny. Like maybe the two of them should rethink this. That maybe they should just stay home. But he quickly shrugged it off. Maybe it was nothing. He shouldn't be so paranoid.

He tried to push back all these feelings and he said in his most enthusiastic voice, "Yes! Let's serve some tea!"

* * *

The Earth King's Palace was beyond impressive. It even made Zuko gasp in awe for he had not seen anything as spectacular as this place. Not even in his old home. The walls were very high and they stretched out into a solid square. Many more walls were built around the palace so you had to go through plenty before you could even reach the gate. Zuko frowned. Ba Sing Se seemed to have a fetish for walls.

Then there was the front entrance. It was so large and impressive. It was made out of pure stone with some Jade crystals lining the edges. Iroh whistled loudly as they stepped out of the carriage and made their way to the entrance.

"Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace. But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror…instead, we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing," Iroh said as they climbed up unto the steps.

"It sure is Uncle," Zuko cheerfully said. He felt slightly better and soon Jin's warning was completely forgotten as they were led through the entrance and into the room where they were meant to serve tea.

Zuko suddenly noticed something funny.

There weren't as many Dai Li guards as he expected. Shouldn't there be a swarm of them? They were meeting with the Earth King! He expected the Dai Li to heavily guard the Earth King from outsiders he barely knew.

He looked at their escort, whose name was Joo Dee. She was weird. Her lips were curved into a very wide smile but her eyes told an entirely different expression. They looked anxious.

"Um…..so the Earth King's there?" Zuko asked.

Joo Dee turned to look at him and said in an overly-cheerful voice, "Oh no. The Earth King is still taking a warm bath. But I am sure that it won't be long. And besides, don't you still have to prepare some tea?"

Zuko frowned and opened his mouth to ask something else but his uncle beat him to it.

"What kind of tea does the Earth King prefer? I've brought Ginseng, Green, Black, Red, Oolong, Jasmine—''

"It doesn't matter. Brew any kind of tea, you like for her," Joo Dee said.

"But what if he doesn't like it? I mean—''

"Wait a minute? _Her?"_ Zuko said suspiciously. He narrowed his eyes at Joo Dee.

"Excuse me?" Joo Dee said. Her wide smile was still in place but her eyes showed fear. Zuko frowned. What a weirdo.

"You said _her._ Not him. Aren't we serving the Earth King?" Zuko said.

"Yes! Of course! You must have misheard me. I said _him_, not her," Joo Dee nervously said.

"No, you didn't. I heard you clearly," Zuko insistently said.

"No, you must have misheard me," Joo Dee said just as insistently while keeping her cheerful inflection.

Zuko realized that they were both glaring at each other. Joo Dee's mouth was still plastered with a wide smile although her eyes became steely.

"You must have misheard her, nephew. Come now. Let's go make some tea," Iroh said trying to abate the situation. Zuko scowled but he didn't push it any further while Joo Dee simply lead them to a small room. A throne was raised on the platform while a small table stood at the center. A little door stood at the back wall. Joo Dee strode towards it and opened it, revealing a small but neat backroom.

"You may prepare the tea here," Joo Dee said before leaving them alone.

Iroh began taking the pots out.

"What kind of tea should I make Prince Zuko?"

"Something weird is going on uncle," Zuko said as he looked around.

"Perhaps he would like my specialty. Jasmine."

"It's like they're keeping something from us," Zuko said as he looked out the window suspiciously.

"Yes….Jasmine seems fine," Iroh said completely ignoring what Zuko was saying.

"Uncle! Would you please focus for a few seconds!" Zuko peevishly snapped.

"And would you please stop being paranoid! The Earth King is going to be here any minute!"

"But—''

"Why don't you tidy the place up?" Iroh said with a tone of finality.

Zuko groaned, frustrated. But then again he could be overly suspicious. It was a rather unfortunate trait of him. He decided that he was being paranoid.

He grudgingly banished the strange feelings that were bubbling inside of him and decided to do what his uncle had told him to do.

But he still felt ill at ease.

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked impatiently. He was getting more and more suspicious as the minutes ticked by and he just wished that the Earth King would show up so that he wouldn't feel as edgy. Zuko twiddled his thumbs in anticipation. He had a feeling that something would happen. Something big.

His uncle, ever-so enthusiastic, simply said, "Maybe the Earth King overslept."

Suddenly several Dai Li agents walked into the room and formed a circle around the two of them. Zuko instinctively reached out for his Dual Dao swords but then he realized that he hadn't brought it.

"Something's not right…." Zuko stated. He began to look around trying to find the best exit route possible. So Jin was right. Something terrible was going on in the palace.

Zuko narrowed his eyes as he saw the person who was entering the room. It was Azula. Zuko clenched his fists and hardened his jaw.

"It's tea time," Azula mockingly said.

She had not changed one bit since he last saw her, except maybe, for the fact that she sporting Earth Kingdom clothes. Her smile was as cruel and as wicked as ever and her eyes had that same manipulative look that she had always had.

"Azula!" he said as he stood on his feet.

Azula completely ignored him. Instead she turned to look at all the members of the Dai Li encircling them and she said, "Have you met the Dai Li? They're Earthbenders but they have a killer instinct that is so Firebender. I love it!"

Zuko looked at his uncle to see what his reaction was and he was slightly puzzled to find that his uncle was simply pouring tea into a cup. Iroh stood up beside him and looked at Azula firmly in the eye.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the "Dragon of the West"?" Iroh asked.

Azula rolled her eyes and looked at her nails. She said in a bored tone, "I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration really…." Iroh said as he drank some tea.

Zuko smirked. He knew very well what was coming next. Zuko ducked behind Iroh just before his uncle formed a Firebending stance. Iroh opened his mouth and blew a torrent of fire at the Dai Li, like a dragon. Zuko looked at Azula and was satisfied to see the shock on her face. It took very little to surprise Azula. The Dai Li agents held their stone gloved hands up and lowered their hands in an attempt to shield themselves. Zuko gave a low-kick towards one Dai Li agent and he criss-crossed around a couple of Dai Li Agents towards the wall, throwing kicks and blows while he was at it. Before he even reached the wall a stream of fire sailed pass his head and into the wall creating a loud sound and a giant hole.

Zuko immediately burst out into the hallway pausing only to wait for Iroh. The two of them ran forwards with two Dai Li agents running after them. They began to fire the small finger pieces from their stone gloves. A few stone finger pieces barely missed Zuko and Iroh, sailing straight into the wall.

Iroh then shot a bolt of lightning towards the wall, making another hole. Iroh quickly jumped out, giving a small shout as he landed on a hedge bush in the shape of a bear. He looked around and waited for Zuko and was mildly shocked to find that his nephew had not jumped after him yet.

"Come on. You'll be fine!" Iroh called as Zuko teetered over the edge.

Blood rushed and pounded onto Zuko's head. His adrenaline was still pumping from all that running and fighting and he wasn't ready to slow down and run yet. Azula's presence has sparked something within him. Hatred. Anger. Pain. All of those came rushing back into him and they were all directed unto one person. _Azula._

He didn't want to look like a coward in front of her. He clenched his fists.

"No. I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula!" Zuko said.

He turned around and with a determined step he walked towards Azula and the Dai Li. Iroh groaned and slapped his forehead at his nephew's stupidity. If he went back up there they would be heavily outmatched and outnumbered. They would_ both_ be captured. He would have to leave Zuko for awhile. He would have to go look for help. Iroh sighed, his heart heavy, as he made his escape.

"You're so dramatic. What, are you going to do? Challenge me to an Agni Kai ?" Azula mockingly said as her lips curled into a self-satisfied smile.

"Yes! I challenge you!" Zuko said his voice filled with passion.

Azula smirked. Zuko was so stupid.

In an airy voice she said, "No thanks."

* * *

Iroh ran as fast he could. His mind was whirring. Who could he ask for help? Jin! He could ask Jin and her brothers. They had anticipated an event such as this. He slapped his forehead. Why didn't he listen? He knew that the three were Earthbenders and were capable of fighting against the Dai Li. Jin tried to keep it a secret but he found out anyway. He bit his lip.

No. He couldn't ask them. They were in the Lower Ring and it would take ages to make the journey from the Upper Ring to the Lower Ring. And once he was in the Lower Ring, he would have to find them. Jin did say that they were running errands today. Iroh nearly clawed his eyes out in frustration. Who could he ask? They had no allies.

Suddenly a shadow loomed overhead. He looked up. The Avatar's bison. Of course! The Avatar! He would help. And he lived in the Upper Ring. Regardless of how….violent Zuko's relationship with Avatar has been, he knew that Aang would be more than willing to help. He would just have to explain. He would beg and plead and grovel on his knees if he had to.

But he had to know where to find Zuko once he had received the Avatar's help. He spotted a Dai Li marching in the corner. In one swift motion, he sent two streams of fire towards the Dai Li Agent and impaired him by kicking at his knees. In panic the Dai Li Agent flailed his arms and attempted to shoot his stone gloves towards Iroh. Iroh merely flicked them away. He then pinned the Dai Li Agent against the wall.

"If you don't want to be barbecued alive, then I suggest that you give up," Iroh threateningly said.

The Dai Li Agent looked fairly young. He had a jagged scar that ran across his face. The Dai Li Agent nodded nervously. Iroh gagged and tied him. He then hoisted the Dai Li Agent up unto his shoulders and proceeded to look for the Avatar.

Iroh strained his head as he tried to recall the address that was listed on the poster of when the Avatar lost his bison.

"Upper Ring….ugh….what district again...96th District… house number….number…two hundred…..two hundred….seventeen!" Iroh muttered to himself as he scrambled towards the 96th district.

He looked at all the house numbers and as soon as he saw the number '217' engraved on a golden plate and posted on a pillar he sighed in relief. He hurried to the door, set the Dai Li Agent down and hurriedly knocked on it.

"Wait, someone's at the door," he heard a very familiar voice say. Iroh knocked on the door again.

As soon as the door opened he sighed in relief. It was the little girl with whom he had tea with. At least he felt somewhat comfortable with her. Maybe she could convince the others to help him.

The little girl, whom he knew as Toph, broke into a wide smile.

"Actually I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine," she said as she addressed the people inside the house. Iroh smiled at her.

"Glad to see you're okay," Toph said as she opened the door wider. Iroh beamed at her gratefully. Behind Toph, The Avatar and the Water-Tribe boy, Sokka gaped openly at him.

"You guys know each other!" Aang said as he pointed a finger at Iroh.

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and very good advice," Toph said good-naturedly.

"May I come in ?" While he was in a hurry he had not completely forgotten his manners. Toph nodded while Aang and Sokka continued to look at him uncertainly.

"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se," Iroh gravely informed them.

"She must have Katara," Aang concluded. Iroh felt a bit of his stress fade away. It wouldn't take much convincing. The Avatar's friend had been captured too.

"She has captured my nephew as well," Iroh added.

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko," Aang said.

"Woah there. You lost me at, "Zuko"," Sokka interjected. He looked at Iroh suspiciously.

"I know how you must feel about my nephew. But believe me when I tell you there is good inside him," Iroh pleadingly said. He put a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Good inside of him isn't enough. Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay ?' Sokka said as he removed Iroh's hand from his shoulder.

"Katara is in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best chance," Aang said. Sokka looked unconvinced but after closing his eyes and giving it some thought, he grudgingly nodded.

"I brought someone along who might be able to help us," Iroh offered. He hoped that the Dai Li Agent would be able to seal the deal. He gestured the others to follow him outside and together they went to the front porch where the Dai Li Agent sat on the front porch, gagged and bound.

Toph earthbent two slabs of rock on either side of him, sandwiching him while Iroh pulled the cloth down to reveal his face.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King!" he immediately said in panic.

"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?" Sokka angrily demanded as he pointed his machete at the Dai Li Agent.

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace," the agent quickly said.

Aang, Toph, Sokka and Iroh looked at each other and nodded. The four quickly departed leaving the Dai Li Agent behind. Iroh now had a tunnel vision. He wanted to find his nephew and get him out of there. He knew how cruel Azula could be. He shuddered to think of what she planned to do with Zuko.

But still, he had not forgotten the Avatar's kindness. Aang could have just as easily refused to help.

He looked at the Avatar and said in a grateful tone, "Thank you."

Aang looked at him and to Iroh's relief, a wide smile was plastered on his face. Sokka, from Aang's side, rolled his eyes while Toph smiled.

In a soft voice, Aang said, "Sure."

Iroh took that as an omen that he and his nephew were on their way to forging peace with the Avatar.

* * *

Zuko's chest swelled with hope as he watched the Water Tribe girl step closer towards him, the cordial carrying the mystical spirit water in her hand. He knew that it seemed slightly ridiculous that even after all these years he still found himself unable to accept the fact that he has a scar on the left side of his face. He felt foolish for wishing to permanently erase that scar. But at the same time, he wanted to get rid of it so badly. It was a symbol of his everlasting shame and dishonor. It was a symbol of everything he hated about himself.

"I don't know if it would work, but…" Katara said as she stepped closer towards him. She touched his scar and Zuko closed his eyes. He wanted her to heal him. He wanted to be rid of his scar forever.

Suddenly, before Katara could do anything else, they heard a deep rumbling noise and finally a boom. Zuko turned to the direction of the noise and was shocked to find the Avatar, bursting head on into the scene.

Zuko was also shocked to find his uncle trailing close behind the Avatar. Iroh hurried towards Zuko and gave him a hug.

"Aang!" Katara happily said.

Aang narrowed his eyes at how close Zuko and Katara's proximity were. Zuko returned his glare. The Avatar! The stupid Avatar! Katara sped over to Aang and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Aang! I knew you would come!" Katara said.

Zuko glared at his uncle. He felt upset and annoyed and angry and all he wanted to do was burn someone or something alive.

"Uncle, I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?" Zuko demanded.

"Saving you, that's what," Aang spat.

Zuko snarled at Aang, ready to attack him but his uncle held him back. Zuko struggled in his uncle's firm grasp but found himself unable to escape.

"Zuko, it's time we talked," his uncle seriously told him. Zuko growled. His uncle turned to look at Aang and Katara and said, "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."

Aang clasped his hands and bowed respectfully before heading off into the other direction. Katara reluctantly followed him, pausing only to look at Zuko for a short while. Zuko growled and turned away from his uncle.

He felt hurt. He felt hurt and angry that his uncle would ever associate himself with the very person that was the cause of all his misery during his banishment. He gritted his teeth.

"Why Uncle ?" was all Zuko could say.

Iroh reassuringly grasped Zuko's shoulders.

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good!" Iroh said.

Zuko closed his eyes and tried to process what his uncle had just told him. But no matter how hard he tried all he saw was the glory he could have received if he managed to capture the Avatar. All the things he could have had.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a violent quake. A trail of crystals shot out from the ground and encased Iroh, impending his movements. Zuko readied a stance as he saw Dai Li Agents slide through the tunnel that they had dropped him in. The very last person to enter was….Azula. She looked calm as she stood in front of Zuko. Zuko narrowed his eyes.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko, Prince Zuko…you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you ?" Azula said as her eyes glittered with malice.

"Release him immediately!" Zuko demanded. He prepared to shoot her with a jet of flames.

"It's not too late for you Zuko. You can still redeem yourself," Azula said as her lips curled into a smile.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh said.

"Why don't you let _him _decide, Uncle ?" Azula said, glaring at her uncle after realizing that Zuko momentarily wavered. He knew that his uncle had a bigger hold towards Zuko's loyalty. But that could easily be overridden if she chose her words right. If she just knew how to tap into Zuko's inner insecurities and desires.

"I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want," Azula said as she crafted her face into a convincing expression.

"Zuko, I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want," Iroh desperately said.

Zuko closed his eyes and tried to tune all the sounds out. This situation seemed vaguely familiar although he could not recall when he experienced this kind of event. He tried to decipher which seemed the right choice but all he could hear were Azula's voice telling him that everything that he had always wanted would be his. He bit his lip in frustration.

"You are free to choose," Azula idly said. She couldn't care less what Zuko's ultimate choice was. His decision wouldn't affect any of her plans. He was indispensable. She signaled all the Dai Li Agents to leave and together they walked towards the tunnel where Katara and Aang exited.

Iroh squirmed in the crystal case and said, "Zuko, listen to me—''

"Didn't you hear what she was offering uncle?" Zuko asked.

The color drained from Iroh's face.

"You are seriously not considering what she was saying?" he cried incensed.

"Uncle! I could have my honor back! I could regain everything that I had lost!"

"_But you will lose everything that you have already gained!"_ Iroh roared.

The two of them stared at each other, amber eyes against amber eyes.

"And what have I gained uncle? A life as a peasant!" Zuko demanded. He threw his hands up in the air.

"A life of happiness," Iroh quietly said.

"I want to go home, uncle. And you can to. All you have to do is to come with me to Azula."

Using his most desperate card, Iroh said "But what about Jin?"

Zuko suddenly faltered. He realized that as soon as Azula finished her business with the Avatar she would soon start taking over Ba Sing Se. And the first thing they would do is that they would imprison all the Earthbenders. Zuko clenched his fists.

"She'll understand."

"How are you going to explain this to her? Hi, Jin, let's go have some dinner and oh—is it okay if I burned some people down on the way? And by the way, I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation and I'm about to conquer your city," Iroh sarcastically said.

"Stop it, uncle!"

"I will not! If you follow Azula then Jin will hate you—''

"But what if I can offer her safe haven? What if I tell her that I can keep her and all her friends and all her brothers safe from the Firebenders?"

"Can you hear yourself talking? I can't even tell you how stupid you sound—''

"I could bring her back to the Fire Nation. I'll tell father to give her a nice house, close to the palace. Maybe within a year, I could boost her and her brothers up in the ranks of nobility. She'd like it there….I mean I could get her a forge….," the more Zuko spoke about it, the more the idea grew in his mind. Jin would understand. He was going to offer her a chance of freedom. A chance to get away from the war. A chance to be with him.

"What are you talking about! You can't have it both ways Prince Zuko! _You can't have it both ways_!" Iroh's voice echoed throughout the whole place.

"Uncle, you don't understand! You will never understand!"

"If you follow Azula…then…..Jin will never forgive you!_ I_ will never forgive you!" Iroh cried.

Zuko turned away from his uncle and said in a cracked voice, "Then I'm just going to have to live with that."

And he walked away from his uncle.

He walked away and he never looked back.

* * *

Zuko lay awake on his new bed. The silence and the unfamiliarity of his surroundings were disconcerting. It was funny since he had been sleeping there for the past three days. His bed was wider and softer and he felt sure that by the morning his back would no longer ache. The room was a little too big. It gave him a sense of emptiness even with all its lavish furniture. He had grown accustomed to the sound of birds twittering in the back ground or the feeling of flies resting on his skin. The calm and serenity of this place was just so weird… He scowled and toyed with the hem of his blankets.

It was three days since he had betrayed his uncle.

It was three days since he had betrayed Jin.

It was three days since he had betrayed every single person here in Ba Sing Se—including his friends.

It took awhile for that to sink into him. And as soon as he realized what he had done and the consequences that loomed ahead. He began to think of Jin and he wondered if she would be worried when she would come to the teashop the next day and find it closed. He had been gone for three days now. She must've thought that he ditched her. Again. He wondered what would happen if she found out. Would she hate him? He sighed. His uncle was right. She would never forgive him.

Zuko felt guilty.

He had tried to unsuccessfully forget about Jin and his uncle and how guilty he felt but no matter what he did the feelings always bubbled back and he always ended up thinking of nothing but his uncle and how he betrayed him and Jin and how he was about to leave her without saying goodbye.

And he suddenly wished that he could simply leave everything he had here in Ba Sing Se but that seemed a lot more difficult than he first thought. As much as he hated to admit it, he had already established some form of life here in Ba Sing Se. And saying goodbye to all the people that he will be leaving behind without a word seemed impossible.

He thought of Jin again.

And how he would go and leave her without saying much, just like the night when he left her at the fountain.

He sat up, determined. He would go and find her and say goodbye. She deserved that. And maybe he could explain some things to her. He could even pitch the idea he had going on about bringing her to the Fire Nation but the more he thought about it the more he realized that she'll probably disagree. She was too headstrong and stubborn for that.

But he can't just leave her with this way again.

He was going to say goodbye.

Now.

It had to be now. He had to do it before his courage fades.

Zuko sprang up from his bed and started pulling a much more decent shirt on. He grabbed a cloak with a hood and pulled it on his shoulders, the hood shadowing a big part of his face. He also grabbed his Dual Dao swords and sheathed them into place.

Slowly and quietly, he ambled past his door and into the hallway. He proceeded more cautiously as he made his way through the hallway. It was infested with Dai Li Agents patrolling at every minute. Azula told him that it was for his protection or whatever. But he knew the real reason why she had so many Dai Li Agents posted on his area is because she still doesn't trust him.

For the past three days he knew that Azula was still standing on her toes around him. She told him that it is not advisable to leave the palace yet so he had been cooped up in the palace for days. He knew that she was still suspicious. She probably still did not expect his decision. She probably expected him to side with uncle.

Zuko cursed.

Uncle.

That old fool would have been with him in glory if he had just followed him with Azula.

Ty Lee and Mai had been keeping a close eye on him too. The pair continually insisted that it was because they wanted to spend some time with him. Although he knew that it was actually a result of Azula's order. The two were very unbearable and Zuko was often so close to clawing his eyes out when he was with them. Ty lee was too cheerful. He knew that Jin was obscenely cheerful too…..but Ty lee was just so….annoying. She wasn't the cute kind of cheerful like Jin. She was the annoying kind.

And Mai. Mai was just too _boring._ She never seemed to be interested or invested in anything and any of his conversations with her remained absolutely fruitless. He did notice however that she looked at him in a really weird way sometimes.

Their personalities were just too extremely different from each other that Zuko hated spending time with them. So whenever Ty Lee would attempt to invite him he would come up with some excuse like he had to go to the library or he had to practice with his swords.

Zuko slinked through the hallway, hiding behind a pillar whenever a Dai Li Agent passed. As soon as he managed to make it into the courtyard, he sprinted towards the gate as fast as he could. He encountered a few more Dai Li Agents on the way but he managed to not attract too much attention.

As soon as he exited the palace gates, he ran to the middle ring.

* * *

The journey on foot from the Upper Ring to the Lower Ring nearly took him all night. By the time he managed to exit the Lower Ring gate, the first rays of dawn started to penetrate through the pitch dark sky.

He had run through what he planned to say to Jin. He kept on repeating it to himself, until he nearly got it memorized. He squared his shoulders. He wasn't so sure why he felt nervous. His palms felt sweaty. His skin was cold and clammy. All he wanted to do was to return to the Upper Ring so that he could sleep. But he had to do this.

He just had to get this over with right now.

Zuko took a deep breath and decided that he needed to get some air and some time to think things through.

He slowly walked towards the Firelight Fountain where he planned on staying for a little while.

As he drew closer he was a little shocked to see that a lone figure was standing there. He immediately knew who it was. It was Jin and she was looking up into the sky, at the fading stars.

"Jin?" Zuko called.

She turned and her face brightened when she saw him.

"Li!" she cried. She sounded relieved.

She ran towards him and enveloped him into a warm hug. Zuko hugged her back.

"You're okay," she said. She looked completely relieved although Zuko couldn't understand why. Then he remembered that he had been in the palace for three days.

"Of course I'm okay," Zuko chuckled as he stroked her hair.

She suddenly punched his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You stupid jerk! I thought you were dead!" Jin sighed. She hugged him tightly.

"Why would you ever think that?" Zuko asked.

Jin didn't answer him.

Instead she kissed him. She kissed him! Zuko relished the feeling of her lips against his. He didn't realize how much he missed her. He missed her so much and they only haven't seen each other for three days. When they broke apart Zuko pressed his lips unto her forehead and he didn't let go for a very long time.

"A coup just happened in the palace and….and you were there so I thought…. And when I came to the teashop you weren't there and I thought that something awful had happened and I thought….I thought that they must have killed you or tortured you…" Jin said.

"Wait? You know about the coup?" Zuko said flabbergasted. Zuko was told to keep that information a secret. Their presence here in Ba Sing Se or news of the coup wasn't to be made public until the Fire Nation army came.

"That's the terrible thing I was telling you about. The day before you were supposed to serve tea to the Earth King Ge Jiang's friend, Zei, a member of the Dai Li, told him that someone was planning a coup against the Earth King and his generals—''

"Wait. Who's that someone?" Zuko cautiously asked.

"He said that it was the Fire Nation Princess. Can you imagine! The Fire Nation Princess is here in Ba Sing Se! And what's more he said that the head of the Dai Li, that scumbag Long Feng, is working together with her. The coup was going to happen on the day that you were going to serve tea. I just found out on that day too. I tried to warn you but when I got to your apartment, you weren't there. You must have gone into the palace. Oh, Spirits, I'm just so glad that you're okay!' Jin said as she hugged him again.

"How—how do you know all these?" Zuko asked.

"It's because—wait—I can't tell you," Jin said in frustration.

"Why not?" Zuko frowned.

"I can't tell you here. Not where so many unwanted ears could hear us," Jin said as she looked around.

Suddenly she grabbed Zuko's right arm and she began dragging him away from the fountain. Zuko groaned. What was he getting himself into?

"Where's Mushi? Where's your uncle? Is he okay? Is he back at the teashop or….or…in your apartment?" Jin said in a rush as they continued to run.

She stepped back a little and it was the first time Zuko got a good look on her. She looked tired and weary. Her hair was disheveled, she looked pale and her eyes looked as if she didn't have any sleep. He also noticed that she was wearing her Earthbending outfit.

"He's….he's…" Zuko couldn't bring himself to say it. Suddenly, everything that he had just rehearsed flew out the window. He didn't know what to tell her.

Jin closed her eyes. "Is he captured?"

"Huh?"

"Is he captured?"

"Yes," was all Zuko could say. Zuko wasn't sure what was happening. He was supposed to be telling her goodbye. Not following her into somewhere shady.

"I thought so."

"We were in the way of the um…..coup….so they attacked us…." Zuko said as he fumbled for a decent explanation.

"Oh no! That's bad! That's really bad! Did they capture you too?"

"Um…yeah. That explains why….I've been gone….for three….days," Zuko muttered.

"What happened? Did you escape?"

"Um…yeah…."

"Did they torture you?" Jin said. She stopped and grabbed his hand. She looked into his eyes with a look of utmost concern.

"No. No, they just…..they just locked me up," Zuko said. He was telling lie after lie. He didn't know why he was doing that. He was supposed to come clean towards her. It was as if his mouth had a mind of its own. Zuko growled. Why was he so stupid?

Jin sighed in relief. They continued to move.

"What happened?"

"I escaped."

"Did you fight against them?"

"Um….yeah…."

"Even if it was against your own people?" Jin asked.

Zuko froze in his place. He had completely forgotten that Jin already knew that he was Firebender.

"Yes. I told you. I'm Li now. There's….there's nothing in the past left for me," Zuko said. Hearing it himself, the lie felt outrageously ridiculous.

What absolutely killed it for him was the expression on Jin's face. She looked at him happily.

"I'm so proud of you," she told him. They slowed down as they reached a blind curve.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so glad that you know how horrible the Fire Nation is. I'm so glad that you're willing to stand for what is right. Even if it means that you're going against your own nation," Jin said. She hugged him and this hug was pulsating with so much more emotion. Zuko reluctantly patted her back.

"You know what? I think that this only made me more attracted to you….if that was possible," Jin coyly said.

Despite his nervousness Zuko laughed. Jin leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"This is so great!" Jin said. She looked so much more enthusiastic now. She was bounding up and down and a wide smile was plastered all over her face. She grabbed his hand and began to lead him through the passageways with so much more fervor.

"Um…yeah…it's so great…."

"You've been to the palace for three days! I mean it's awful that you go locked up but it's also great because that means you've seen and heard what's been going around there," Jin said. They turned to the left.

"Um…..yeah…I've seen and heard stuff….which is why things are so great….um…" Zuko muttered.

"We have to move quickly. Before the sun rises too high. By then more people will be showing up to open their shops," Jin said as she hastened her steps. Zuko tried to match her pace but he discovered that his nervousness and anxiety was getting the better of him.

What was he thinking? Why was he even playing along with this? It was as if he couldn't think properly once he was around Jin. It was as if once she was in close proximity with him, she would immediately start impairing his ability to think things through.

Zuko managed to catch up with her. He tried to start a conversation but she seemed adamant in keeping the silence. They continued on, the silence that was enveloping around them tense and uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" Zuko finally managed to sputter.

"A war is what's going on," Jin gravely said.

Zuko began to sweat profusely. What did she mean by that? Why wasn't she giving him a straight answer?

"I don't understand," he said.

"Don't worry. You will soon," Jin said.

They continued to run through the many alleyways and paths in silence. Above them the sky had turned into a pinkish color and he knew that the morning would soon come. That also meant that Azula would soon find out that he had left and she would start looking for him. He had to figure out a way to return to the palace so that he won't raise any suspicion. But it seemed as if he had no way out. He was bound to follow Jin to wherever she was going. He sighed. He might as well try to talk to her without the tense and uncomfortable atomsophere.

"So….what were you doing in the fountain?" Zuko asked as he hazarded into another decent conversation.

"I just needed some space. Some time to get away from….things," Jin said.

"From what kind of things?" Zuko asked.

"You'll see," Jin said mysteriously.

They continued to speed through the different alleyways. Zuko soon became familiar with the path they were taking. They were heading towards the coal mines. Zuko wrinkled his nose. Why on earth would they go there? What could they do there anyway? He became more and more curious as they continued to speed along. Finally they reached the clearing where the entrance to the coal mines stood.

Immediately, Zuko realized that something was severely different. The big boulder no longer stood. Instead, all he saw flat. No more boulder. Zuko looked around and he started to realize that he could see and feel other people's presence inside the rundown buildings.

Jin immediately began to slow her pace. She gestured for Zuko to follow her.

"Something's….something's different," he told her as they hazarded into the center.

"Shh…" Jin said as she began to earthbend. A hole appeared and Jin quickly jumped into it. Zuko followed after her.

Once the two of them were at the bottom, Jin grabbed his hand and gestured him to be quite.

"Follow every step I make. Not one toe out of line," she whispered into his ear.

Jin looked around and made a cautious step forward. She made a step to the right. She froze before bringing her other foot forward. She then looked around and made a step forward. She gestured for Zuko to follow her. Zuko wasn't so sure what was happening but he decided to do just exactly what she told him to do. He tried to copy and mimic her movements with as less margin of errors he could manage.

He wasn't sure what happened next. All he knew was that he accidentally lost his footing and he ended up stepping into the opposite direction of where she went. Suddenly, the ground started quaking. Jin scowled and looked at him, 'What did you…"

Before she could finish, stone spikes suddenly started flying into the air. Zuko narrowly missed two while Jin managed to deflect a few with her hands. She grabbed Zuko's hand and together they surged on forward, trying to avoid all the spikes.

"Jump!" Jin told him.

"What!"

"Jump!"

Zuko now understood what Jin meant. In front of them lay deadly bed of spikes. Jin surprised Zuko by running on the wall while Zuko made a quick jump over it. He stumbled a little bit on his landing and so did Jin. The two of them tumbled on top of each other. The quaking stopped and so did the flight of the spikes.

Jin who was lying on top of him looked annoyed. Zuko on the other hand, just felt weird. He realized how close their bodies were and it's not that he didn't like it….it's just that it made him feel….awkward. He sighed. He should get out more often.

"I told you to follow every single step," she said peevishly.

"What was all that about?"

"A defense mechanism Duan Jie invented. Now come on," Jin said as she dusted herself off. She held her hand out to Zuko who grabbed it and together they journeyed forward.

"Why would he need a defense mechanism? And wait—he knows about his place?" Zuko said.

Jin however, was ignoring him completely. She suddenly stopped and turned to the left wall.

"This is it," she simply said.

"Huh?"

She suddenly earthbent another hole into the left wall. She gestured Zuko to follow her.

"Come on!" Jin said. The two of them moved forward inside the hole, with Jin tunneling forward using earthbending.

"Why do we need to go here? We could just keep going forward in that direction," Zuko said as he pointed at the previous tunnels. After his experience in the Crystal Catacombs, he was sick of tunnels.

"You'll see," Jin said. Zuko scowled in frustration. Why was she so secretive? Suddenly they came into a halt. Jin earthbent another exit. Zuko stepped forward but Jin held him back.

"Trip wire," she calmly told him. Zuko looked closer and saw that she was right. A thin wire stretched over the hole she made. She jumped over the wire and gestured for him to do the same. Zuko followed her and together they walked forwards.

"What are all these booby traps for?" Zuko asked as he walked beside Jin.

"They're to keep unwanted guests away," Jin said.

"Why do you need to keep unwanted guests away?" Zuko asked.

"You'll know soon," Jin said.

"Why are you being so annoyingly cryptic?" Zuko snapped, his temper failing for the first time. Jin earthbent the tunnel she made back into what it was before. A solid wall.

"And why are you being so impatient! Keep quiet or else we'll get stuck knee-deep in mud!" Jin hissed.

Zuko froze and looked around.

"Are you serious?" he fearfully asked.

"Let's just go!" Jin sighed exasperated.

They continued to walk forward. Zuko felt more and more tense. What was going on? And what was he doing? He was supposed to tell her. That was the whole point of why he was here. Zuko began to twiddle his thumbs. He should stop this. He should tell her right now.

"Um…Jin…there's something….something…."

"Hm?"

She looked at him and his courage failed. She looked at him with eyes brim-filled with hope. She looked weary and tired but she looked hopeful. Zuko swallowed thickly.

"Nothing," he said as he looked away.

"Okay…." Jin said as she started at him with a confused expression. Suddenly her face broke out into a smile.

"We're here!' jin said.

Zuko looked up and saw that there was a small door that stood in front of them. Zuko frowned. He didn't remember that door during his many trips there. He didn't even remember this part of the coal mine.

Jin suddenly started performing a series of strange knocks. As soon as she was done, a very familiar voice said, "The hyacinth falls at such a beautiful angle on the equinox…."

"But only when the moon is aligned with the seventh star," Jin replied.

Zuko stared at her confused.

"What are you babbling about?" he asked but Jin ignored him.

The door swung open and Zuko saw plenty of familiar faces. He saw Duan Jie, Shu….he even saw Jiao.

"What's going—''

Jin smirked and said, "Welcome to the Ba Sing Se Resistance."

* * *

_Yes, I know the timeline seems and the plot and everything else seems really, really confusing or out of whack to some of you but don't worry. All will be explained in the next chapter. So, Zuko betrayed his uncle. I know most of you wanted him to not betray his uncle but I wanted him to stay in character and I believed that is what he would have done anyway. Even if he met Jin._

_Thanks to those who read this or added this to their Favorites. _

_ArrayePL and SkorpionQueen012 my two most loyal reviewers. You two never cease to amaze me. Keep it up and thank you, thank you, thank you so much! _

_Thanks to Marina Hawk for your review and comment!_

_To villagecookie211: Yup, there are definitely a lot of grammatical errors and tense changes. Usually I never notice them until I post them on fanfiction mostly because I never double check what I've written. I'll try to keep them to a minimum. Thanks for the awesome words of wisdom and the nice review. You don't know how much that means to me._

_And guys, don't leave me hanging._

_Keep the reviews up._


	9. Part IX

**Burning Bright**

_Part IX_

Everything shut down as soon as Zuko heard the seven fateful words "Welcome to the Ba Sing Se Resistance".

He couldn't process anything in his brain. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't even move. All that he was thinking about was how incredibly stupid he was. And how much he was about to hurt Jin. Things weren't supposed to become even more complicated! He was supposed to tell her the truth. He was supposed to come clean with her. And now it was too late. He couldn't tell her here where there were so many earthbenders and fighters, ready to claw his eyes out once they found out. He couldn't tell her when they were alone either because he would be violating the trust she had put upon him. She would be very angry with him. She would hate him. There was no way out of this. He was stuck.

Zuko started feeling even more clammy and his hands started becoming wetter and wetter from the sweat it was producing.

He looked around and decided to distract himself by examining the place. The entire room was generally very spacious. It had high ceilings and it was cozily furnished with nice, thick carpets covering the ground. A big round table stood in the center while many stools and chairs were scattered about the place. Every inch of the wall was either covered with Earth Kingdom flags and banners or renaissance Earth Kingdom paintings. Crystal lamps illuminated the whole place, giving off an eerie green glow.

Jiao was being a big show-off as usual. He hung out in a chair located at a dark corner, purposely showing his blade and sharpening it in front of everyone. Duan Jie seemed to have come back from the forge because his face and hands were smeared with ash. Shu sat on a chair next to the table where he was examining a scroll with utmost interest.

No one seemed to notice him except for Duan Jie. Duan Jie immediately began to wave enthusiastically. Zuko was about to wave back when suddenly, he felt a strong hand grip his wrist. He wasn't exactly sure what happened next. He was still in a daze and he was in deep in his thoughts. All he remembered was being abruptly dragged from that large spacious room to a smaller one.

"What have you done! Why did you bring him here!" a loud voice boomed.

Zuko's attention snapped back into focus. He looked around and saw that the only people in the small room were Ge Jiang, Jin and He Shen. Ge Jiang looked extremely scary. He was donning full Earth Kingdom battle gear. He was wearing an Earth Kingdom helmet and an armor made out of metal but some stone was mixed with it. On his hands and feet were stone arm guards and leg guards. With his very angry demeanor and heavy battle suit he looked very imposing.

Jin was standing in front of him and she looked just as angry. She was wearing her usual Earthbending outfit. It was an outfit similar to the Dai Li's although it was sleeveless and it showed off her toned and flat stomach and the really, painful looking bruise that was on the right side of her back. She was also wearing arm guards and she was barefoot. She was crossing her arms and staring at her oldest brother defiantly.

From behind them stood He Shen. Zuko's jaw dropped. He Shen normally looked untidy and care-free with his hair in disarray and his clothing loose. He looked very imposing today however. He was wearing a battle armor similar to Ge Jiang's although Ge Jiang's armor looked more impressive. He was also wearing a helmet and all his unruly hair was kept away from his face. Zuko sighed in relief when he saw the liuqin hanging from He Shen's back. At least he still had his liuqin. He Shen looked a little exasperated as he watched his siblings argue again. Zuko knew that Jin and Ge Jiang argued a lot. He Shen often acted as the mediator between the two.

"What do you think! I brought him here as a member! To the Resistance!" Jin snapped.

It felt as if a hundred tons of rock was dropped on him. A member? To the Resistance? It never really sank into him that he now had no way out.

"No! As usual, you are too _trusting!_ Would it kill you to be a little more suspicious, Jin?" Ge Jiang scowled.

"Li is a friend," Jin argued.

Zuko felt like puking when she said that.

"He's a Firebender! He can't be trusted!" Ge Jiang said. Zuko silently agreed with him.

"Not all Firebenders are evil, Jiang! He_ can_ be trusted!"

"No, he can't! I don't trust him! And therefore, I deem him a danger to the Resistance. He is to be imprisoned here until final notice," Ge Jiang said with finality. Zuko felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"You can't do that!" Jin angrily said.

"Yes, I can! May I remind you that I am the leader of this Resistance!" Jiang snapped back at her.

"You're _one_ of the leaders of the Resistance! This is a triumvirate, remember! Me and Shen have the same power as you!" Jin snapped.

"But still, as the eldest, I am the one highest in rank, even among the triumvirate. I get the last word," Jiang said.

"But not when it comes to choosing the members! You need at least two people to vouch for a new member….."

Ge Jiang closed his eyes and placed his hands on his sister's shoulder. He said in a softer voice, "Jin, please…..please don't do this."

Zuko prayed in his place. He prayed that Jin would listen to her brother. He prayed that she wouldn't do this.

Zuko managed to sputter, "You don't have to—''

"I'll vouch for him, Jiang. I'll vouch for him," Jin determinedly said. She looked straight into Ge Jiang's eyes. Ge Jiang looked pained but his eyes were just as steely.

"Think about this, Jin. He could be—''

"He could be an asset to the Resistance. Think about it, Jiang! He's from the Fire Nation! Which means he knows a lot about the military tactics they deploy. He knows their thinking, their culture….he's going to help us be one step ahead of the Fire Nation," Jin excitedly told his brother.

Zuko muttered under his breath, "Actually…I've—I've been gone there for a really long time so…."

Zuko trailed off after realizing that no one was really listening to him. Jin was staring at her brother with a fierce expression while Ge Jiang was deep in thought. Zuko paled. It seemed as if Ge Jiang was seriously considering this.

"You have a point there. But still…..letting him join the Resistance is a very volatile matter. We're having enough problems convincing people—''

"Jiang, he's been imprisoned there for three days! He knows what's been going on! And you've said it yourself. You need that kind of information. Jiang, he could help us!" Jin said. She began to shake Ge Jiang. From behind them He Shen stood impassively. He was looking at the floor. Zuko guessed that he really didn't want to be a part of this.

Zuko began to mumble, "Um….well, I've been knocked out so I didn't really notice—''

Jiang said completely ignoring Zuko, "Well, he can give us that information _as a prisoner! _Jin, please! Just open your eyes for one moment and stop being so trusting and optimistic—''

"He lives in the Upper Ring—''

"He's been captured. What's to say that the Dai Li aren't looking for him right now? He's a hindrance, not an asset—''

"But he has a pass! Jiang, think about it! All of our members in here are from the Lower and Middle Ring! We need more people in the Upper Ring to fund us! And aside from that, all of the most major activities going on concerning the Fire Nation are in the Upper Ring. Security among the many walls and gates has become tighter since the coup. We need an access to the Upper Ring!" Jin determinedly continued.

"I think I sort of lost the pass…." Zuko mumbled under his breath.

"What's to say he hasn't joined his people?" Ge Jiang demanded.

"He was imprisoned. He fought them, Jiang! If you just give him a chance—''

"No, Jin! I won't allow this nonsense to continue! He is dangerous—''

"He's my boyfriend! _I know him!_ He would never—''

"He is untrustworthy—''

"He can be trusted! You've seen him! You've met his uncle! They're nice people—''

"He is a threat to the Resistance—''

"And he can help us! He can help us move forward and you know it—''

"And I deem him unworthy to join the Resistance. I deny his request for membership—''

"Well, you can't deny a vouch! Jiang, please…"

"Jin, _please _don't do this. As a favor to me, please. I don't want you to get hurt," Ge Jiang pleadingly said.

"Jin…listen to your brother," Zuko mumbled under his breath. When he realized that no one heard him, he said in a louder voice, "Jin, you don't have to do this for me—''

"I will personally vouch for him._ I_ will _personally_ say that I can trust him," Jin said. Her gaze was very passionate and steely. Ge Jiang matched her heated eyes.

"I'm sorry Jin. But I still deny his request for membership. You need at least two people to vouch for him. And as far as I'm concerned, there's only _one_ of you," Ge Jiang said.

Jin looked frustrated while Zuko felt relieved. He didn't care if they would imprison him. All he cared about was Jin. He couldn't believe that she was putting her honor on the line for him. Zuko felt the sting of shame creeping up his cheeks.

Suddenly, Jin looked in He Shen's direction.

"Shen! He Shen! You can be Li's second person!" Jin said.

Zuko groaned and so did He Shen.

"Don't do this Shen! You know the possible consequences! Don't be stupid!" Ge Jiang snapped.

"Hey, don't drag me into this, man…." He Shen said. He held his hands up.

"Shen, come on! You know, Li! Does this look like someone evil to you!" Jin demanded as she gestured towards Zuko. Zuko twiddled his thumbs.

"Aw….Jin, you know that I think that Li is a cool dude. I mean, it's no joke, man! You're one awesome dude," He She said as he looked at Zuko directly. Zuko nodded a little too vigorously.

"But, Jin…..Jiang has a point. I mean, like I get the whole he's a 'reformed-not-evil-Firebender thing' but like we can't take any chances—''

"I can't believe I'm hearing you say this!" Jin scowled.

"Aw…..Jin….don't be—don't be like that," He Shen began.

"Shen, you've seen Li—''

"You're letting Li and your relationship with him cloud your judgment Jin. He's not making you think objectively. I mean….would you let him join if you two weren't dating?" Ge Jiang interjected.

He Shen quickly agreed, "What Jiang said, man. I mean I'm just thinking objectively. When Jiang was like….talking about him being a prisoner, he didn't mean that we'd treat him badly. He'll just be like….in house arrest. I mean sure….he won't be allowed to leave and he'll generally have no rights but…you two can still date and kiss and—''

"Yes. Yes, I would still vouch for him even if we weren't dating. Because I know that he is good person. Shen, please," Jin pleaded.

She suddenly widened her eyes and pouted her lips and clasped her hands together.

"Aw….not the face Jin…." Shen said as he tried to use his right hand to shield away from her pouting face.

"You know that you could trust him, Shen," Jin pleaded.

"Well….yeah…I guess you're right. I mean, like, Li's a cool dude Jiang."

Jin's face lit up.

"Are you serious?" she asked excitedly.

"_Are you serious?"_ Jiang scowled.

"I guess so. Sure…I'll vouch for him," Shen reluctantly said.

Zuko felt like jumping off a cliff. What had he done?

Ge Jiang scowled and slapped his forehead.

"Why do you always side with Jin?" he snapped.

"Hey, I side with both of you. I mean, I play no favorites," Shen said.

"Whatever. I guess what's done is done," Ge Jiang sighed.

Jin squealed and gave her brother a giant bear hug.

"But, his identity as a Firebender must be kept a secret. We don't want to get people even more agitated then they already are," Ge Jiang added seriously.

"Thank you so much Jiang!" she said. Despite his anger, Ge Jiang smiled at his sister.

"Why must you be so persistent?" Ge Jiang muttered jokingly as they broke apart.

"I guess that means I'm a true Earthbender," Jin smiled.

"I guess so," Ge Jiang chuckled.

"Whoa. You two aren't actually yelling at each other. This deserves a song," Shen said. He took his liuqin out and began to sing another song loudly. He Shen continued to sing until he exited from the room, Earthbending a door so he could leave.

"I'll give him the tour," Jin said as she twined her fingers around Zuko's. She beamed at him. Zuko smiled weakly back at her.

"You go ahead, Jin. I have to tell him a few things," Jiang said.

Jin looked at the two of them worriedly but she agreed. She earthbent an opening and left through it.

Zuko swallowed thickly as Ge Jiang spun around to face him. Ge Jiang's eyes were a deeper shade of green and they were fiercer.

"Let's just get one thing straight, _Firebender._ I don't trust you," he hissed.

"Um…."

"Which means I'll be keeping a close eye on you. If you hurt my sister…if you do anything to hurt Jin...if you even step one toe out of line then…there will be no more second chances…." Ge Jiang said as he advanced towards Zuko menacingly.

As soon as they were only a few inches apart, Ge Jiang said in a dangerous voice, "I will end you. _Personally."_

* * *

Zuko discovered that the coal mines different passageways and tunnels had been severely altered for the past three days to cater to the Resistance Headquarters. As Jin explained to him, if you weren't an Earthbender, then you would probably have some trouble moving around the place. The tunnels were like different veins stemming from one artery which Jin calls the Main Tunnel. Many hidden and visible tunnels branch out from there and into different areas and rooms. Some tunnels lead to dead ends; some can only be opened through Earthbending, while most will lead you into a deeper and more unfamiliar part in the coal mine.

Each tunnel, which Jin referred to as "Antechambers", was outfitted with booby traps. Jin and Zuko had to be very cautious in passing through one so in took them nearly forever to go from one room to another.

Zuko didn't speak much. He mostly listened to Jin as she babbled on and on about tunnels and booby traps and Antechambers. His thoughts were very chaotic and it was mostly because he was feeling so many emotions at the same time. Firstly, he was angry at himself. He couldn't believe that he got himself roped into this. He had no way out. If he told Jin what really happened and what he had done then she would probably get really mad at him and Ge Jiang would bury him alive. If he told Azula about this then she would waste no time in crushing a possible uprising and Jin and her brothers would get hurt or imprisoned. And no matter what he did, Jin would end up hating him.

The only way, as of the moment, was to play along to both sides. That seemed incredibly stupid to him but it seemed to be the only way. Maybe he could keep this up until he got home….

"Duck!" Jin screeched. She dropped onto the ground and Zuko followed her. A ten foot cylinder made out of stone started going back and forth above them like a pendulum.

"What is that?" Zuko asked. The stupid cylinder jerked him out of his thoughts.

"_That _is your fault. Weren't you listening to me when I told you that this place was bogged with tripwires?" Jin frowned.

"Sorry," Zuko muttered.

"We just have to time it right," Jin said under her breath.

Zuko nodded and together, they stood up and sprinted forward, timing their movements so as to not get hit by the cylinder. Once they made it safely out of the tunnel, Jin grabbed his hand and began to drag him forward.

"I think you're going to love this next place," Jin said as she pulled him onwards.

"What is it? Another booby trapped tunnel?" Zuko said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"No. It's something better. It's a room actually," Jin smiled.

They reached the end where a small door stood in front of them.

"This place is really confusing," Zuko said as Jin took a key out.

"You'll get the hang of it. For the next few days, I think that you should stay in the main room for awhile. So that you know….you won't get trapped in a dead end or mauled by a pile of rocks or anything," Jin said as she fitted the key into a lock.

"So you need an Earthbender to get around the place?" Zuko muttered.

"Not….exactly. If you just know your way around the coal mines then if you can't Earthbend you'll know where to go," Jin said as the door finally opened. Jin took Zuko's hand and led him inside.

Zuko's eyes bulged after seeing what was inside. On every inch of the wall, cabinets and shelves were plastered. And inside each cabinet and shelve, weapons of every kind were stacked in it. Zuko recognized a few from Jin's bedroom. He looked at her and saw that she looked happy and slightly proud.

"This is the Resistance's weaponry," Jin declared.

"Whoa. This place is so…..big," Zuko whistled.

"This is actually just one of three most important rooms we have. The first is the Main Room, the one you first saw. It's where we hold our meetings, discuss plans, and prioritize agendas. The second is in here. The Weaponry. I gave most of my collection to the Resistance," Jin looked a little sad at this.

Zuko placed one comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Duan Jie provides most of the weaponry. But we're still lacking some more weapons," Jin frowned.

"What! Have you seen this place?" Zuko demanded.

"It's not enough. Especially since more and more members are coming in. And a majority of them can't bend," Jin said.

"Oh."

"And the last important room is the Training Ground. You've already seen it. That's where we practiced Dual Dao before. Remember?" Jin said. She looked at him and smiled.

Zuko nodded and said, "Yeah."

"The rest are really small rooms. A few dummy rooms to confused intruders. We also have barracks where some people sleep. And of course you've been to the room where me, Jiang and He Shen usually discuss things," Jin explained.

"I'm surprised that you managed to organize this in three days," Zuko said in shock. It was unbelievable. He realized that the Resistance is actually a very fast and efficient organization. Azula would have her hands full.

"It wasn't easy. Mostly because we had trouble convincing other people that the Fire Nation is here in Ba Sing Se. Not all in the Resistance completely believe us. And not all are too happy that three teenagers are actually leading this thing. Things are not very stable yet," Jin frowned.

Zuko looked at her and realized that although she was still smiling, she looked very tired and pale. Zuko pulled her closer and he began to rub circles on her shoulders.

"I'm sure that it would all work out soon," he told her lamely. He felt and sounded stupid. He couldn't even comfort his girlfriend properly.

"Why can't people understand that it's important for us to organize a Resistance _right now?_ " Jin scowled.

"Look, maybe you should give it some time," Zuko said but Jin was on the roll now. She started to rant.

"It's good that we're one step of the Fire Nation. They think that nobody knows that they're here. But we know and they don't know that we already have a Resistance organized. And people just don't get that!" Jin snapped peevishly.

"I can only imagine how you and your brothers managed to put all of this together," Zuko murmured.

"We started organizing it as soon as we heard about the coup. We recruited Duan Jie and Shu and a few of Shen and Jiang's most trustworthy and closest friends first. Then when the coup finally happened, we started expanding. We recruited more people. We started to fix this place up. But it's so much harder since not everyone is willing to cooperate. The Resistance, despite being organized, is still very unstable and it could fall apart with one wrong thing," Jin wearily said.

"Like them knowing that I'm a Firebender," Zuko said. He couldn't keep the hurt that was resonating from his voice. He knew that he was a little irrational and foolish for even feeling that but he cared about what Jin thought of him. And so far, being a Firebender, he proved to be nothing more than a nuisance.

He suddenly felt very guilty all over again.

He reminded himself that he was here not to be a _permanen_t member of the Resistance.

He was just here until he could think of a decent way out. A way to get himself untangled from this mess without hurting Jin or arising any of Azula's suspicions.

"Oh no….Li…it's just that—it's just that we don't really need news of that to rock the boat any further. Not everyone believes that the Fire Nation is here and most of the members here are still against the idea of three teenagers leading an organization as big as the Resistance. We need things to….calm down for awhile. Just to stabilize the Resistance. Ugh….now that I think about it, that sounds like so much work to do," Jin murmured.

"You and your brothers will get it done. Things like this just take time," Zuko said trying to comfort her.

Jin closed her eyes and breathed in and out. Zuko felt very sorry for her. She looked tired and sleep-deprived. He wanted to make everything better. He wanted to make every single thing that had made her life awful go away. Zuko kissed the lids of her eyes and pressed her head on his chest.

"Maybe we should go buy something from the Sweet Shop," Zuko said. He knew how much she loved candy and anything sweet generally. Back when Zuko still lived in the Lower Ring, he and Jin used to go there all the time.

"No. I can't. We have a meeting with all the members today and after that me and Jiang have some stuff to do," Jin sighed wearily.

"Oh. Okay. Then we could go buy something _after_ you're done with whatever you have to do with Ge Jiang," Zuko said.

"I can't either. After that I have to help Duan Jie forge new weapons and armors," Jin said.

"Ugh! Then I'll take you to dinner this evening," Zuko said.

"I'll be sleeping here in the Headquarters, tonight. I'm set to patrol the eastern Antechamber during about…um…midnight," Jin told him.

"Am I allowed to spend time with you? At all?" Zuko said losing his patience and temper.

"No," Jin playfully replied.

"Jin," Zuko whined.

"Li," Jin muttered. They stood there in complete silence, with Zuko's arms wrapped around her waist and with Jin's head laid on his shoulder.

"I missed you," Zuko muttered, finally telling her something truthful. He did miss her. Zuko sighed into her hair.

"And I almost lost you," Jin said.

"But you didn't. How about tomorrow? Are you still too busy?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know," Jin sighed.

Suddenly the door flew open and a small, timid looking man with spectacles burst in.

"Um….am I interrupting something?" he asked when he saw Zuko. Zuko and Jin quickly sprang off each other, as if scalded.

"Oh no, not really Nuo. I was just showing Li around. He's a new recruit," Jin explained.

"Your brother sent for you. The meeting is about to start and he refuses to begin without you," Nuo said.

"Do you perhaps now where your other brother is? He is missing in action too," Nuo added

"Try one of the smaller rooms. He usually hides there and sings some songs or makes some poetry," Jin told him as she opened the door.

Nuo nodded and together they started leaving the Weaponry. As soon as they made it to the Main Tunnel, Nuo left quickly telling Jin that he had to find Jin's other brother, He Shen.

"What did Jiang tell you, by the way?" Jin asked as Nuo scampered off.

"Hm?"

"Back there. What did he tell you?"

"Oh….yeah. It was nothing really. Just some things I should know about the Resistance and he asked me a few questions about my imprisonment," Zuko lied nervously.

"Oh. Okay," Jin said although she sounded as if she didn't quite believe him.

"So…this Zei person….he's an insider in the Dai Li?" Zuko inquired eager to change the topic.

"He's a long time friend of Jiang's. But he's not a member of the Resistance. He's too much of a threat."

Zuko's heart beat twice as fast once he heard that.

"And I'm not?" he asked nervously.

Jin turned to look at him and said with passionate eyes, "No. No, you're not. I trust you."

Zuko could not describe the feelings of guilt and shame that coursed through his body.

* * *

Zuko estimated that the Resistance already had about a hundred and fifty members and that was still the number before the second batch arrived. People referred to Jin and her brothers as the Triumvirate, the leaders of the Resistance, although it seemed as if only Ge Jiang had any leadership power or rank. He Shen didn't seem to care at all since he spent his time in the meeting playing with a marble under the table while Jin didn't really seem to mind that Jiang was the one bossing everyone around.

Zuko couldn't sit next to Jin since she sat next to her brothers who were sitting at the end of the table. He attempted to sit next to Shu or Duan Jie but too many people were surrounding them. He took a seat in the corner next to Nuo, the only other person he was familiar with.

Despite the fact that He Shen was completely detached from the meeting (he didn't once look up from his marble) and the fact that Jin didn't once interrupt or speak during the meeting, the trhee still formed an impressive trio. They radiated an aura of power and austerity.

Ge Jiang started the meeting by explaining a few things and by welcoming Zuko to the Resistance. Jin, Duan Jie, He Shen and Shu sent him a small smile while Jiao and Ge Jiang merely looked at him with a cold and blank stare. All the other members muttered words of welcome.

As soon Ge Jiang finished with that little announcement he went right to business. He told everyone the new password for the next day ("The sparrow flies in the evening morn—but the swallow waits until the sun is born"). Ge Jiang made everyone repeat it again and again until it rolled off everyone's tongue easily. When they were done memorizing the password, Ge Jiang warned everyone that if they were unable to memorize the password then they will not be granted access to the Headquarters.

"They change passwords everyday?" Zuko said in surprise.

"Every single day. It's so that access to the Headquarters is a little hard to get for outsiders. Sometimes, if they think that something is wrong, they change it in the _middle of the day_," Nuo told him.

"That happened?"

"Once. When someone went missing. It turned out that, Dong, the person who got missing, actually just got himself fined for parking his emu-horse in the wrong place. You wouldn't believe how many people were stuck in the tunnel with the spikes going off in every direction. It was pandemonium," Nuo said as he shook his head.

Zuko looked at him closely and deemed him as someone who didn't seem to be the fighting type. He also didn't look like someone who was from the Lower Ring.

"Are you from the Middle Ring?" Zuko asked.

"Yup. My dad used to be a physician," Nuo said.

"Used to be?"

"The Fire Nation took him. Before we came to Ba Sing Se," Nuo said sadly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Zuko quickly said. He suddenly felt even guiltier than he did before.

He decided that to distract himself from the overwhelming feelings of guilt and anxiousness, he should start paying attention to what Ge Jiang was saying. Ge Jiang was explaining to everyone about the need to be fast and competent. They needed to find ways to smuggle more weapons and food and resources for the Headquarters. He also told them not to draw too much attention. Jiang wanted the Resistance to be a surprise for the Fire Nation.

"We also need about twenty people to sleep in here tonight so we could have roving guards. My sister and I will stay while Shen will go back up. Remember that some of you have to go home. No one can sleep here for three nights in a row. We don't need to arouse suspicion by going missing. Volunteers?" Ge Jiang said.

A handful raised their hands, including Nuo. Jin took a paper out and an ink brush out and she passed it around instructing those who wish to stay to write their names down. When all of that was sorted out and when all their shifts and the places where they were supposed to rove were settled, Ge Jiang began to talk more about recruiting more members. He explained that the second batch of new recruits would arrive tomorrow and there would be about thirty of them.

Ge Jiang then explained the process of recruiting new members. It was simple enough. If they thought someone to be trustworthy then all they had to do was find two people to vouch for that person. They then have to present themselves to the Triumvirate. He began to express how severely important it is to get new members for them to amount to the Fire Nation Army. Everyone nodded as they chorused promises to get new members.

"Now, the _main_ reason as to why I've called everyone here is news regarding the Avatar," Ge Jiang began.

Suddenly, the whole room erupted into murmurs. Zuko felt his insides ball up and his jaw and fists clenched.

Jin cleared her throat, propelling the room into a lulled silence.

"We have reason to believe that three days ago, the coup was not the only thing that happened," Jin began. She sounded strong and confident but her eyes betrayed a look of worry.

Everyone in the room seemed to still. They all craned their necks and leaned forward in an effort to hear better at what Jin was saying. Only Zuko sank back into his seat.

Jin didn't seem to want to deliver whatever news she was about to tell them. She looked around worriedly and maintained her silence for a few minutes. Finally, when Ge Jiang seemed to noticed that Jin didn't seem ready to deliver whatever she had to say, he pounded on the table and spoke clearly, "We received some news that the Avatar may be severely injured or….or…._dead."_

Zuko closed his eyes and listened as the whole room erupted into pandemonium. He could hear the mixed sounds of outraged cries and sorrowful wails. When Zuko opened his eyes once again he saw that almost everyone was at their feet. Ge Jiang's face had hardened while Jin was standing up and she was busy trying to calm people down. He Shen on the other hand continued to play with his marble.

"This is a joke! This whole Resistance is a joke!" a loud voice from the other side of the room yelled.

The noise died down a little and everyone turned their heads to face a tall and lean man with a long black beard. He looked very stately but yet not too extravagant (Zuko guessed that he was from the Middle Ring) and his hair was pleated into a braid just like Shu.

"Keep quiet An!"

"Don't speak so loudly…"

The people around him whispered as they tried to force him back into his seat. But An would not be silenced. He glared at Jin and her brothers and said, "No! I'm sick and tired for taking orders from these….these….these _children_!"

Zuko could see that Jin's jaw had visibly tightened.

"Silence, An! May I remind you that me and my brothers have experience in these matters far more than any of you in here!" Jin said in a loud voice.

"You are all young and foolish! You have no capability to lead an organization as big and as important as this. I say we elect new leaders! Leaders that are older! Leaders whose minds have been ripened with the knowledge of age and wisdom!" An yelled back.

"Leaders like who? You?" Jin snapped.

An opened his mouth to reply but Jin cut him off. Her eyes looked very dangerous and her voice was low, "Tell me, An. Have you ever seen how a war looks like?"

An puffed his chest and said pompously, "I've read what a war is like."

Jin opened her mouth to speak but Jiang held a hand up, signaling her to be silent. He clicked his teeth and said in a low voice that was almost like a purr, "No. _Have you seen it?_ Do you know how it looks like? Do you know….that the fire….that the flames look so beautiful as it consumes everything but the beauty of it all is ruined by the screams of hundreds of pained people? Have you seen what burnt flesh looks like? Have you seen raining ash? Have you seen dead people? Have you? _Have you?_"

An didn't answer. He stepped back a little but his gaze didn't waver.

"No, you haven't And you know why? It's because none of you have been beyond these walls. Some of you didn't even know that a war was raging on until now. You are all ignorant. You are all unprepared. But me and my siblings have been through so much. We've been through pain. We've been through death. We've been through fire. _We've been through war_," Ge Jiang said.

Something about the way Ge Jiang said it made Zuko feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. He looked at Jin and was pained to see that for once, her face was contorted into a sad and sorrowful expression.

No one talked or move for the longest of time. Finally, An found his courage and his voice.

"But still, I refuse to take orders from teenagers! This Resistance is one the verge of collapse! How do you receive your information! How do we know that it is even a viable or trustworthy source?" An demanded.

The murmurs came back.

"Our sources are very accurate, believe me," Jiang dismissively said. He seemed ready to let this go.

"But the thing is…not all of us completely believe you. How do we know that these three….teenagers are even telling the truth! What if there is no Fire Nation! What if this is an attempt to undermine the Dai Li! What if they are tricking us? What if this will only lead to our ruin!"

The noise and murmurs grew louder.

"The Fire Nation is here! If you don't completely believe us, then why did you join the Resistance in first place!" Jin roared over the din of the noise. People were murmuring agreements now.

An glared at Jin and that made Zuko hate him even more. Zuko balled his fists up.

"And what of this news of the Avatar! How do we know that this not a lie! The Dai Li has assured us that the Avatar is alive!" An yelled.

"The Dai Li is helping the Fire Nation!" Jin cried back but it was too late. Everyone had become agitated. More and more people were expressing doubts. People were on their feet. Men and women were shaking their fists up in the air.

"Yeah, they might be liars!"

"Why are we taking orders from kids!"

"The Avatar isn't dead!"

Zuko jumped on his feet too, afraid that the crowd was getting rowdier and that some of them might attempt to hurt Jin. He looked at An and glared at him. The man was smiling smugly as the chaos ensued. He looked at Jin and was sad to see that she was trying to desperately calm everyone down. Zuko felt the urged to run over to An and to give him a good punch on the face.

Suddenly the ground shook and the loud voice of Ge Jiang roared, "Enough!"

The room became calmer although people were still on the edge. Jiang stared at An hardly. No one spoke for the longest of time. Finally, Jiang waved his hand and said simply, "Men, take him to the prisonhold."

Suddenly, three people sprang up from behind An and shackled his arms and legs with stone handcuffs. An gave a shock cry while the people who seemed to have supported him started yelling and throwing their fists in the air in protest. Zuko looked at Jin and saw that she looked shocked and slightly angry. From his seat, Shen stopped playing with his marble for the first time.

"Jiang! What are you doing!" Jin screeched.

"What does it look like, sister? I am teaching the members of the Resistance discipline," Jiang calmly said. Something about the way he referred to Jin as "sister" made Zuko's blood run cold. It was as if he was speaking to an underling, not to his younger sister. Zuko attempted to move towards them but Jin caught his eye and shook her head. He frowned.

"You—you can't! I gave money to this cause!" An sputtered as the men started to drag him away.

Beside him Jin grabbed his shoulder and pleadingly said, "Jiang! You can't do this! You can't deny that he has made a contribution to the Resistance!"

"But you can't also deny that he has spoken out of turn and against his superiors! We must eradicate or subdue all threat to this Resistance in order to be able to move fast and efficiently. He has threatened the Resistance by attempting to cause an uprising! We cannot afford any reason for us to fail!" Jiang cried.

"Well, I do agree that he needs to be taught a lesson. But sending him to a prisonhold for something like this! Isn't it a little too harsh!" Jin said. He Shen uneasily squirmed in his seat, unwilling to enter into another one of his brother and sister's arguments.

"Jiang, man, Jin's right. I mean I know that the dude was being majorly uncool but you can't just like throw him into the prisonhold! It stinks there! And like there are poop and rats everywhere," Shen attempted to argue.

"I will not tolerate this kind of disobedience and disrespect especially since the Resistance is still very fragile!"

"But you can't do something this cruel! Stop this immediately!" Jin demanded. She then turned towards An who was being forcibly dragged away into a tunnel by the three men.

"Stop it!" Jin ordered. The three men stopped in their tracks. An looked at Jin pleadingly. He was sweating and he looked nervous.

Jiang suddenly grabbed Jin's wrist and pulled her towards him.

"Me and my sister have to discuss something. Carry on," Jiang said through gritted teeth. The three men nodded.

"No! I'm sick and tired of you treating people and us like a bunch of pack mules! You wouldn't know a thing about teaching others respect because you don't know how to!" Jin snapped.

Shen tried to calm Jin down, but Jin simply glared at him. Jiang growled, "Jin…."

"You can't just put someone in the prisonhold for something like this! You're no better than the Fire Nation!" Jin yelled.

The whole room gasped. Jiang stared at his sister with great anger on his eyes.

"_Silence_, sister. Know your place," was all Jiang told her. Jin glared at him but she said nothing more. Then he looked away from her and faced everyone.

In a cool but fevered tone he said, "Let this be an example to everyone. We cannot afford things like these at a time like this! To those who have doubts….to those who have questions… feel free to join your good friend An."

Everyone turned to look at An who was yelling protests and screams as he was being dragged away.

No one spoke for a very long time. Finally Jiang said, "To those who wish to oppose me or try to start a mutiny, make no mistake. I will not hesitate to throw you overboard."

He looked at Zuko as he was speaking this.

Then he looked at Jin.

"No matter what rank or what place you have in my life."

And with that the meeting was adjourned.

* * *

After the meeting she had disappeared off into somewhere. He spent thirty minutes looking for her in the Headquarters and after many minutes of fruitless searching he decided that she must have gone outside. Zuko had to ask He Shen to help him get outside since he couldn't Earthbend. He Shen agreed, stating that he ahd to go outside anyway since he was due to return home.

"Whew. Major tension today, man. Especially with Jin and Jiang," He Shen said as she shook his head. Shen was using his Earthbending to form a tunnel as they exited.

"Yeah. I think that it was a little unfair for Jiang to say that. Jin is his sister," Zuko frowned. He felt a bit hypocritical. If that was Azula, he would have no problem saying horrible things to her. But Azula was very different from Jin. Jin was compassionate, kind and understanding. Azula was none of those.

"Don't worry, man. They have arguments like these all the time. They always make up in the end," Shen assured him.

"Really? Why is it that they seem to really hate each other…er…sometimes?" Zuko mumbled as he recalled what Jin told him about loving your sibling no matter what. He also recalled the way they spoke with each other and how heated their arguments often escalated to.

"Childhood matters, childhood grudges. It'd take a long time for me to explain," Shen said as they finally exited the Headquarters. Shen seemed unwilling to talk more about it. Zuko decided not to push it.

The two of them bid each other goodbye once they reached the surface. He Shen ambled his way home, singing another song as he walked while Zuko hurried over to the one place he knew Jin had gone.

The Firelight Fountain.

And he was right. She was standing there, in the glare of the afternoon light, staring off into space with her arms crossed.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked as he came up from behind Jin.

Jin jumped up, slightly startled but she smiled once she saw Zuko.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm—I'm fine," Jin muttered although she didn't look or sound fine.

"Listen, about what happened back there—''

"It's nothing," Jin said trying to laugh it off.

"Nothing? You and Ge Jiang said some pretty intense things to each other," Zuko frowned.

"It happens all the time," Jin shortly said.

"I can see that," Zuko muttered as he tucked a lock of her hair back behind her ear. He then wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You're upset," Zuko stated when Jin didn't say anything else for a long time.

"I'm not upset," Jin argued. He could feel her stiffen in his arms.

"The thing with the Resistance…it's getting to you," Zuko continued despite Jin's obvious discomfort.

"I'm perfectly fine. It's all in your head."

"No, you're not. If you need to talk about it….I'm…um…here," Zuko awkwardly offered. He was really new to this whole relationship stuff so he still wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

"I don't need to talk about anything because nothing is wrong," Jin said as she forced a smile.

"Ugh! Why can't you just let me comfort you like most boyfriends!" Zuko spat losing his temper.

"Because I can take care of myself," Jin answered him calmly.

"But you're obviously not fine! I'm just trying to help," Zuko said.

"Li….I don't want to talk about this right now, okay?" Jin said. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. Zuko frowned at her but he decided that he wanted to make her happy. He grudgingly nodded before saying, "Fine. But I still think you should relax. Do you want to go to the noodle shop?"

"I can't. I have to go back. Some weapons need to be delivered from the forge to the Headquarters and we can't raise any suspicion while we're doing those," Jin sighed. She broke free from Zuko's grasp.

"Wait. I have to go too," Zuko said remembering that Azula was still here.

"What?"

"I have to go back. To the Upper Ring."

"But the Dai Li might be looking for you," Jin frowned.

"It's all right. There were many of us captured during the coup. I doubt they even remember me. And besides I want to be on the look-out for any new activity," Zuko said.

"I don't like it. I think that you should stay in the Headquarters for awhile," Jin said.

"Weren't you the one who said that I might be useful since I live in the Upper Ring?" Zuko asked.

"I only said that so Jiang would accept you as member."

"Glad to know that my girlfriend doesn't think that I'm capable of handling things on my own," Zuko said. His face morphed into a look of brooding. Jin snickered before drawing closer to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to spend sleepless nights thinking that you died."

"I'm going to be fine."

"The last time you said that you got captured."

"Jin, seriously. Nothing bad is going to happen. I can meet up with you tonight and maybe we can get some dinner."

"I told you—''

"Fine, tomorrow night. We're going to the noodle shop. And no excuses."

"Where are you going to stay? Isn't your apartment and the teashop closed?"

"Glad you reminded me. I think I'll tidy the teashop up and maybe try to find uncle. And no, it's not closed. I have the key."

"I don't know Li…."

"Jin, I'm going to be fine," Zuko persistently said. He didn't want to raise any of Azula's suspicions.

Jin stared at him worriedly but she conceded. Zuko held his arm out and Jin reluctantly linked her arm with his. Zuko walked her back to the entrance of the headquarters, trying his best to keep things light. Jin however continued to look worried. She also looked very absentminded. When they arrived at the entrance, they both gave each other a kiss goodbye.

"Be careful," Jin whispered as they broke apart.

"Always," Zuko smirked but then his face fell.

Jin was no longer listening to him. She was looking away and her face looked as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

Zuko stared at her and he wanted to do nothing else but to make her smile again.

* * *

Zuko tried his best to sneak back in undetected but it was lot more difficult since the Dai Li seemed to be looking for him. By the time he made it to the Upper Ring, the sun was slowly setting. He had managed to make it past the courtyard and he was just on his way to his room when a cool voice said, "Where were you?"

Zuko spun around to find Azula sitting idly on a large chair. Mai was squatting on the floor staring at her nails while Ty Lee was busy doing a headstand.

"Zuko!" Ty Lee suddenly cried. She resumed back into a standing position and ran over towards him to give him a hug.

"Um…hi?" Zuko said as he reluctantly patted her back.

"We've been looking all over for you. We thought that you've run away!" Ty lee cheerfully chirped. Azula shot her an angry look.

Ty Lee cowered in her place and quickly added "Er….what I mean is…um me and Azula thought that you've been kidnapped. We didn't think that you've run off because we weren't suspicious or anything or…."

Ty Lee decided to keep her mouth shut after being the receiving end of another one of Azula's glares.

"Yes, Zuzu, we've been looking everywhere for you. I'm afraid that your disappearance has exhausted us and the Dai Li. We were so worried. Care to enlighten us?" Azula easily said although she was looking at Zuko suspiciously.

Zuko shuffled his feet in his place and fumbled for an excuse, "I wanted to get some air."

"You could get some air in the garden," Azula drawled. She sounded calm and completely unaffected but Zuko knew better. She was bothered and concerned that Zuko might not be completely on her side yet.

And the sad truth was….Zuko wasn't so sure either.

He liked Jin.

He really,_ really_ liked her.

And he couldn't bear the thought of doing anything to hurt her. And by staying with Azula as she conquered Ba Sing Se he knew that he would be hurting her so much. He just couldn't do that. Not when so many bad things were already happening in her life. Her many arguments with her brother. The Resistance being fragile despite being well-organized. He didn't want to add more things in her already cluttered brain.

But at the same time he wanted to go home. He wanted his honor and his life back. He wanted his father's love. The thought was so tempting that Zuko wasn't sure he was ready to let that possibility go yet.

"I know….but um…the air in the Lower Ring is….fresher," Zuko muttered.

Azula eyed him warily.

He won't make any hasty decisions that he might regret. For now, he'll just have to play along to both sides until he was sure he knew what he_ really_ wanted.

"And it took you the whole day to get some air?" Azula questioned.

Zuko lost his patience and scowled. He huffed before proceeding to stomp away from the trio.

"I don't expect you to understand," he snapped.

"Oh, but try me, Zuzu. I'm so curious to know your fascinating explanation as to why you desperately need some air from the Lower Ring," Azula said. She hopped off her chair and followed Zuko as her brother stormed into his room. Ty Lee and Mai quickly trailed after them.

"I needed some time by myself without all those annoying Dai Li guards bothering me. I've been stuck here for three days. I wanted some time for myself," Zuko said, his voice sounding frustrated. Azula didn't seem ready to give up.

"They're here to protect you Zuzu. There are many dangerous people out there who'd like to kill us," Azula said soothingly. Zuko however had already lost all his patience.

"I can protect myself!" Zuko snapped.

Azula merely pursed her lips and glared at him. Behind her, Ty Lee quietly shrank in the wall while Mai maintained an apathetic expression. Zuko took a deep breath before spinning around to face his sister. Azula looked completely calm. As always. Zuko hated her when she does that. It made him feel like she always had the upper hand on things.

Azula opened her mouth to speak but Ty Lee cut her off.

"Um…Azula! Zuko has a point! I mean it does get too stuffy in here! Seriously, my aura has never been grayer during my stay here with all these creepy Dai Li soldiers!" Ty Lee quipped.

Beside her, Mai gave a yawn before saying in a dull tone, "Yeah, it does get pretty boring in here."

Azula looked ready to rip someone's head off but decided to ignore the fact that her friends had just defended her stupid brother. She raised a brow at Mai and Ty Lee before looking at Zuko again. She gave a long sigh, before proceeding to examine her nails.

"Fine. Do what you like. But I suggest that you start packing up. We leave for home next week. That's when the Fire Nation Army would formally tear down Ba Sing Se's walls and crush everyone's homes," Azula said in a bored tone.

Zuko clenched his jaw. The thought of all those people dying made his stomach ache. The thought of Jin's face when she sees the Fire Nation made his head swim. Zuko didn't answer for a very long time.

"Zuzu! Zuko!" Azula said.

"Huh?" Zuko snapped back into focus.

"I said you better start packing," Azula repeated. She narrowed her eyes at Zuko.

"Oh. Well…um….the thing is….I don't really want to go home yet," Zuko muttered mostly to himself. Azula however, heard it well enough.

"What!" she cried barely keeping the shock out of her voice.

Zuko looked away from her and mumbled, "I don't want to go home yet."

"And why not? Father would want you home," Azula demanded.

Even the tempting thought of his father didn't faze Zuko. He merely shrugged and said, "I just don't feel like going home, okay?"

"And what will you do here?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll govern or watch over Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation or something," Zuko said as he started to leave Azula.

"I can very well find a person to do that!" Azula growled as she tried to follow him.

"Can you please just let me go to my room?" Zuko cried in exasperation.

Azula stopped and rigidly looked at Zuko as he stormed further into the hallway.

"Fine," she muttered.

Behind her, Ty Lee and Mai were having a ridiculous discussion about clouds.

"Do you ever wonder why clouds are so….puffy?" Ty Lee asked.

"No," Mai replied dully.

"Not even a little?"

"No."

"But they're so…..so…mysterious. It makes you really wonder."

"No."

"Ugh! As usual my brother is being difficult," Azula scowled, silencing Mai and Ty Lee's conversation. Mai looked up before re-examining her nails while Ty Lee immediately bounced her way over to Azula.

"Aww…..I'm sure Zuko's just….._sad. _You did put his uncle in jail," Ty Lee said as she tried to comfort Azula by patting her back.

"No! It's definitely something else! Zuko used to be honor-obsessed. He should be over the moon about going home," Azula muttered as she narrowed her eyes at the direction Zuko went.

"Oh….Azula, I'm sure that Zuko isn't up to something. He's just so….um….what's that word…." Ty Lee said as she rubbed her chin.

"Overwhelmed?" Mai offered.

"Yes! Overwhelmed! Zuko might just be overwhelmed by all this! I mean conquering Ba Sing Se is so much to take in," Ty Lee quipped.

Azula didn't seem convinced. She merely turned an inch of her face towards Ty lee before muttering, "I guess you're right. But still….Zuko went with my side a little too quickly for my tastes."

Azula looked at Mai and said, "Mai, I want you to start looking for a person who'll lead Ba Sing Se in our absence. But I want that person to be nothing more than a puppet. A person willing to do whatever the Fire Nation tells him or her."

"Sure. Whatever," Mai shrugged.

From her place, Ty Lee started jumping up and down and waving her hand eagerly. Azula whipped her head in Ty Lee's direction and raised a brow.

"Ooohh….what about me Azula! What will I do?" she eagerly asked.

Azula thought about it before saying, "Keep an eye out on Zuko. He might be up to something."

* * *

"Where is he sneaking off too?" Azula scowled as she watched Zuko run to the courtyard from the balcony. Beside her Mai was sitting on a chair eating fire flakes while Ty Lee was picking off the petals of a flower.

Zuko was sneaking off into somewhere again for the _third time_ in a row. Azula began to feel a bit uneasy. She would never admit it to anyone but Zuko's impulsive nature frightened her a little bit. It meant that she could never fully understand him or manipulate him to a full extent. He was a loose cannon. She never really knew what he was planning to do.

"Huh?" Ty Lee said as she stopped what she was doing.

"You were supposed to look after him. What have you noticed so far?" Azula demanded.

Ty Lee perked up and dropped the flower she was toying it. She skipped towards Azula and Mai and stopped in between the two of them.

"I think I know what might be going on with Zuko…." she said as she placed an arm around Azula and Mai's shoulder.

"Well? Tell me!" Azula said impatiently.

"Don't panic but…..I think Zuko might have a girlfriend!" Ty Lee squealed.

"_What!"_ Azula cried.

"Shocking," Mai said in a flat tone. She continued to chew on her fire flakes.

"What are you talking about! That's preposterous! My brother having a girlfriend!" Azula said in a loud voice. Ty Lee stepped back and held her hands up.

"Well…I mean it is _possible," _Ty Lee defensively said.

"Explain," Azula ordered.

"I mean…Well…Zuko has been here in the Earth Kingdom for a really long time so….it's not really a stretch that he might have found someone….who you know….might've liked him back…." Ty Lee mumbled as she twiddled with a lock of her hair.

"You're assumption is baseless," Azula sniffed.

"And lately, I did notice that he's been wearing very really nice clothes. And he always brings little gifts with him. The day before yesterday, he brought a bouquet of moon flowers. And yesterday he bought some Earth Cakes. And tonight, I think he brought some candy. And he always smells nice. _Too nice_ for a regular boy," Ty Lee continued.

Azula furrowed her brow and considered this.

"And let's not forget the fact that he always has this really silly smile on his face whenever he comes back. Zuko_ never_ smiles," Ty Lee added.

"Well…I do suppose you're on to something there. But still…I want you to keep looking. While your observations are very um…." Azula searched for the right word.

"Interesting?" Mai offered.

"Yes. Interesting. While your observations are interesting, Zuko having a girlfriend is not the kind of thing I was looking for. Keep looking," Azula said.

"But Azula! It could happen!" Ty Lee pouted.

Azula sighed before flicking a lock of her hair away. She said in a patronizing tone, "I'm sorry but I find it very hard to believe that someone could be actually attracted to my brother."

* * *

Zuko carefully wrapped the lemon bread in a clean cloth. Jin really loved lemon bread so Zuko bought her some. Jin seemed a lot happier since they started spending time together although there were many times where she spaced out on him. She still looked tired and worn out though. Zuko often told her that she should rest but she insisted that she wished to spend time with him. As soon as he finished wrapping the lemon bread, he put on his most decent but comfortable clothes on, slung his Dual Dao swords at the back and started to steal away into the courtyard.

Azula was keeping a close eye on him and he guessed that she had commissioned Ty Lee to spy on him too. For the past three days, he noticed that Ty Lee had been hanging around him a lot more than usual.

Zuko managed to get pass the courtyard and he was already at the gate when a soft voice said, "Going somewhere?"

Zuko flinched and spun around. He felt relieved when he saw that it was just Ty Lee. For some reason, he felt more comfortable when he was around her. He guessed that it was because she was so much nicer than Azula and better and more interesting company than Mai.

"Oh. Um….hi Ty Lee. I was just going off into the Lower Ring to um…get some um…."

"Is that lemon bread?" Ty Lee asked as she peeked through the package Zuko had wrapped.

"Um….yeah…."

"Who's it for?"

"What?"

"Who's it for? The lemon bread," Ty Lee said. Her voice sounded slightly impatient.

"Um…it's for a friend."

"What kind of friend?" Ty Lee demanded as she leaned forward.

"Um….you know…." Zuko's voice lowered until Ty Lee could no longer hear anything else. Ty Lee frowned. She just knew that Zuko had a girlfriend. The problem was he wasn't willing to admit it and Azula wasn't willing to believe it. But she had to prove to Azula that her theory was right. She wanted to prove to her that she was more than just an airhead.

"Well come on!" Ty Lee said as she started moving forward. Zuko frowned. What was she doing?

"What are you doing?" he asked as he reluctantly followed her.

"I want you to introduce me to your friend!"

Zuko nearly choked on his own saliva. That was not part of the plan. He imagined that Jin might be bit jealous. He could only imagine what she would be thinking once she sees him waltzing into the Lower Ring with _another girl_ not far behind.

"What?" he managed to sputter.

"I want you to introduce me to him."

"My friend is a her actually. And besides, now's not exactly the right time to—''

"Her? _Her? _Your friend is a her!" Ty Lee slyly said.

"Yeah and as I was saying now's not the right time for an introduction—''

Ty lee suddenly started squealing, cutting him off completely. She pointed a finger at him and said, "I knew it! You do have a girlfriend!"

"What!"

"Don't act so surprised Zuko."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"And so do you. I knew it! I knew it!" Ty Lee squealed.

"TY Lee—''

"Oh….stop denying it Zuko. I know these things. _I have experience_."

Zuko frowned and said, "Look…it's not like that—''

"And it's so obvious. The small gifts. The nice clothes. The fact that you smell nice."

Zuko protested, "My clothes are not that nice."

"And you're blushing so hard."

"I'm not blushing!"

"And let's not forget the small detail that you're afraid that you might make her mad by bringing me along," Ty lee triumphantly finished.

"Huh?"

"Oh please, I'm not ignorant! You're scared that she might be jealous! That's why you don't want me to come!"

Zuko exhaled loudly, rubbed his temples and looked at Ty Lee. It seemed as if he was always getting himself entangled in one mess to another until he was in so deep that he had no way out. And now, Ty lee found out about Jin. He briefly debated on whether he should bring Ty Lee or not. He then decided that he should. There was no point in keeping things from her anyway. She would continue to pry until she got what she wanted.

"Ugh. Fine! You got me!"

"So you do have a girlfriend!"

"Yes," Zuko said defeated. Ty Lee flashed a triumphant smile.

"What's her name? What's she like? Is she fun? Is she pretty? Does she like mushrooms? Can I come?" Ty Lee said, rapidly saying one question after another that it made Zuko a little confused on which question he should answer first.

He decided that he should answer her last question.

"I guess you could come," he reluctantly said.

Ty Lee clapped her hands and said, "That's awesome! But….are you sure she won't be mad?"

Zuko shook her head and smiled.

"She's not that kind of person," he fondly said.

"Let's go then!" Ty Lee said as she began to move forward.

During their whole trip to the Lower Ring, Ty Lee talked non-stop. She asked more questions about Jin and their relationship.

"Where did you first meet?"

"In the teashop," Zuko answered.

"Where you and your uncle first worked?"

"Yeah."

"How did you ask her out?"

Zuko didn't bother to answer that question since the details were too embarrassing. Zuko felt slightly nervous as they entered the gate of the Lower Ring. He wondered what Jin would think of Ty Lee. Would she like her? Or would she feel threatened by Ty Lee's presence?

"Did you lie to her?"

"Huh?"

"Your girlfriend. Did you tell her the truth or did you make something up?" Ty Lee asked.

That question made the color drain from Zuko's face. He gripped the package he was holding tighter.

"Um…"

"You do know that lies are not the best way to start a relationship?" Ty Lee said. She looked slightly annoyed.

"I didn't lie to her about everything!"

"Does she know your real name?"

"Not…yet."

"What name did you tell her?"

"Li."

"Li?"

"Yes."

"But it's so….common."

"It was the only name I could think of."

"Does she know that you're a Firebender?"

"Yeah."

"Does she know that you're a _royal_ Firebender?"

"Not….really."

"Don't you think that you should tell her? I mean you are about to burn Ba Sing Se to the ground," Ty Lee said. Her brow furrowed.

"About that…."

"Oh! So that's why you don't want to go home!" Ty Lee said as a look of realization dawned on her face.

Zuko gave a guilty look.

"She must be really special," Ty Lee added.

They both turned around the corner until they finally reached the restaurant where Jin and Zuko agreed to meet. Jin stood outside, her arms folded. She looked better today. Her eyes didn't look as weary. She was wearing her regular Earth Kingdom robe and her hair was tied in two braids. She gave him a big smile and waved at him when she saw him. He turned to look at Ty Lee, planning to introduce them to each other, but Ty Lee was already gone.

She was speeding towards Jin in full force. Jin gave an incredulous look before being given a strong bear hug by Ty Lee.

"Hello?" Jin said in a polite voice although she looked very puzzled.

"So you're Z—'' Zuko wildly gestured for Ty lee to stop. Ty Lee quickly remembered that Zuko was using a different name.

"So you're Li's girlfriend!" Ty Lee giddily said. Jin raised a brow.

"Um….I guess so," Jin said. To Zuko's relief, Jin had a playful smile on her lips. She smirked at Zuko.

"You look so pretty!" Ty Lee decided.

"Thanks. You look…..pretty….too," Jin replied.

"I know! I love your aura…..it's so…..bright!" Ty Lee continued.

"My….aura?" Jin bemusedly said.

"Jin…this is my friend, Ty lee. She's from the circus too. We ran into each other in the Upper Ring," Zuko explained, cutting Ty Lee off before she could say anything else.

"Hi, Ty Lee. It's so nice to meet you," Jin said as she held a hand out to Ty Lee.

Ty lee began to vigorously shake it, "So...your name is Jin, right? You're so beautiful. What did Zu—Li I mean, put in your food to make you actually go out with him?"

"She's an acrobat," Zuko interrupted, elbowing Ty Lee away before she could say anything else embarassing.

"That's cool. Maybe you could show me some tricks sometime," Jin said good-naturedly.

"I hope I'm not intruding. It's just that I've heard so much about you that I wanted to meet you for myself," Ty Lee earnestly explained.

Jin, to Zuko's relief, wasn't bothered at all. She merely smiled indulgently and said, "No…not at all. Me and Li would love some company tonight. And besides, I'd love to hear stories of what happened during your many travels with Li and the circus."

"Zu—I mean Li and the circus?" Ty Lee said, confused.

"Yes. The circus. Remember, Ty Lee. The circus wherein me and my uncle and you were part of," Zuko said through gritted teeth. He jabbed at Ty Lee's ribs.

"Oh! Right. I knew about that of course. Hehe…how could I not?" Ty Lee nervously said.

Jin didn't seem the least bit suspicious. Zuko decided not to pursue this conversation any longer. He quickly handed the lemon bread to Jin who of course, gave a smile and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. Ty lee suppressed a giggle. The three of them entered the restaurant where they had many frivolous discussions.

Jin and Ty Lee got along really well since their personalities seemed to mesh. They were both bright and optimistic yet Zuko noted many differences too. Jin was more level-headed. She was headstrong, stubborn, she knew what she wanted in life and she was very sure of herself. Ty lee on the other hand, was very airheaded and she was easily influenced or manipulated by other people.

Ty Lee conjured many fictional stories about him being in the circus—all of which were embarrassing. Zuko huffed a few times. He didn't know why people found it so entertaining to embarrass him.

When they finished dinner, Ty Lee excused herself and left, taking the hint that the two wanted to be alone. She gave a meaningful wink before leaving. Jin gave a laugh while Zuko smirked.

"She seems…sweet."

"Jealous?' Zuko teasingly asked as they exited the restaurant.

"Only a bit," Jin whispered as she twined her fingers around Zuko's.

"I'm sorry I brought her along. It's just that….she was too energetic. I couldn't stop her," Zuko said as they walked towards the entrance of the Headquarters.

"I could see that," Jin said. She looked amused.

"Are you mad?" Zuko asked half-teasingly, half-worriedly.

"Yes," Jin seriously said.

"Really?"

"Wanna know how you can make it up to me?" Jin asked as they came to a stop.

"I'm really curious," Zuko murmured as he inched closer towards her.

They were very close to each other now. They were just one move away from kissing each other. And just when thought that they were about to kiss….

"You must buy me some more lemon tints," Jin whispered, her breath hot and heavy on his lips.

Zuko laughed and they pressed their lips against each other. Zuko relished the wonderful feeling.

"How's things down there?" Zuko asked referring to the Resistance.

"Better. Something big is about to happen," Jin said. She looked the happiest he had seen her in days.

"What's that something big?"

"You'll see," Jin said. She smiled to herself.

"Hm?"

"It's really going to knock your socks off."

"What's going to happen?" Zuko insistently asked. He felt a bit afraid of what new part of the web he was currently tangling himself in would explode.

"That's what I'm planning to tell you. Do you think you could be up a bit later?" Jin said. She looked excited.

"Why?" Zuko was almost afraid to ask.

Jin looked around, earthbent the ground and pulled Zuko forwards.

She said, "The details will be explained better down there."

"What details?" Zuko nervously asked but Jin had already plunged into the hole. Zuko followed after her. As usual she was being cryptic he scowled.

"Jin what's going? What's going to happen?" Zuko asked. He grabbed her hand.

Jin looked at him, smiled and said happily, "We're going to launch an attack on the Dai Li's Headquarters. And after that we're bringing the whole Fire Nation down with them."

* * *

"Azula! I was right!" Ty Lee said as she burst into the throne room. Azula was sitting lazily on the chair, reading a scroll while Mai was playing with her knives at the steps.

Azula diverted her attention from the scroll to Ty Lee. She said in an annoyed tone, "Where were you? Me and Mai have spent many minutes looking for you!"

"I was out spying on Zuko," Ty lee explained.

"Really? Did you discover anything? Is he planning an uprising against me?" Azula eagerly asked. She leaned forward.

"No, silly! I discovered that I was right!" Ty lee patiently explained.

"Right about what?" Azula frowned.

"Zuko has a girlfriend!" Ty Lee announced.

"What!" Azula said.

Mai stopped playing with her knives but she still maintained her dull expression. In an emotionless tone she said, "That's big news."

"I knew it! I was right! Zuko has a girlfriend here in Ba Sing Se! That's why he doesn't want to go home!"

"A girlfriend…" Azula said to herself. She rubbed her chin.

"And you wouldn't believe it Azula! She's very pretty!" Ty lee continued.

"_Pretty?_ Are you sure she's Zuko's girlfriend?" Azula demanded. She didn't look as if she completely believed Ty Lee.

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it either at first but they're really dating!" Ty Lee nodded.

"My brother would stay in this filthy city for….a _mere girl_?" Azula muttered.

"She must be really someone special. I mean he lied to her, Azula just so he could be with her!" Ty lee said.

That got Azula's full attention.

"What?" she snapped.

"I don't think he wants to hurt her. She doesn't know anything about Zuko's real life. I guess that's why he isn't so eager to go home or conquer Ba Sing Se," Ty Lee mused.

"He lied to her…" Azula muttered to herself.

"But they make such a cute couple Azula! I wouldn't peg her for someone as Zuko's type but they complement each other really well," Ty Lee said.

Azula shortly said, "Break them up."

Ty lee's face fell.

"W—what? But why?" she sputtered.

"We can't have him having any distractions. We have to get him home," Azula scowled.

"But Azula…..they're so _cute_ together," Ty lee pouted.

"This girl sounds dangerous. She sounds like someone who could divide his loyalty," Azula frowned.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on him, Azula. Maybe you should give him a chance to do what he wants," Mai said suddenly speaking up for the first time.

"Yeah, Azula! Zuko really likes her," Ty Lee argued.

Azula however ignored the two of them completely. In a dangerously low voice she said, "We have to make sure that he gets home to the Fire Nation. No matter what."

* * *

_Sorry for my lateness. _

_I hope I did Mai justice in here. Don't get me wrong. I like Mai. She's an awesome character. I just don't like her **with** Zuko. I really tried to capture each character's personality. I hope I didn't fall flat on that area too much._

_To Alana C. Jones: Your review was very awesome. It made my day._

_To SkorpionQueen012, my most loyal reviewer: thanks for the comment. Don't stop your awesomeness._

_To Fehize: Thank you, thank you so much. I really appreciate your review. _

_To ArrayePL, another loyal review: thanks for your review. You just make me want to write more_

_To Kokomojeezus: thanks for being so enthusiastic of my story. made me feel awesome_

_To villagecookie211: Many, many thanks. Your review made my heart grow two sizes bigger._

_And to all those who read this story and added it to their favorites, thank you so much!_

_Keep the reviews up. _


	10. Part X

**Burning Bright**

_Part X_

The mood in the room was tense and serious. Everyone was crowding around the round table with utmost interest. Zuko noticed that the Resistance seemed to have grown over the past few nights. He estimated that they now had over four hundred members and according to Jin that was still counting. Zuko had to squeeze himself in a corner to find anywhere to sit. Jin had reluctantly left him to go sit with her two brothers who positioned themselves at the end of the table.

Zuko hoped that this meeting would end better. So far, he only attended one meeting, and it resulted with everyone rioting and with Jin and Ge Jiang yelling at each other.

Jin and her brothers however seemed to have put their differences aside and they were now completely focused on the meeting. Despite the fact that they were all wearing their regular everyday clothes, they still looked imposing with their straight backs, fierce eyes and perfectly sculpted noses in the air. Even He Shen looked fully invested in the meeting. He wasn't composing a poem or a song or playing with anything as it was going on.

Everyone was squeezing themselves near the table. Zuko craned his neck to see what was so interesting that everyone had to crowd around the table and was completely shocked to see that every inch of the big, round table was covered with the map of the Dai Li Headquarters. He recognized it from the time he went there to retrieve the Avatar's bison. Stone markers were positioned on different areas.

Zuko began to fidget in his seat after realizing how deadly serious Jin was about taking the Dai Li down. He can't believe that he was getting himself roped into this. An attack on the Dai Li would mean that he would be stretching his loyalty to both sides beyond his limits. He was vaguely aware that he had to choose a side quickly. Zuko began to twiddle his thumbs in anticipation as he waited for the meeting to continue.

"Excited?" a voice asked him from his right.

Zuko turned around and smiled once he saw that it was Duan Jie. His smile, however, immediately faltered after taking a better look at the man. Duan Jie looked very haggard and tired. The tips of his hair had been singed at the edges. His skin looked bright pink which made Zuko guessed that he had been spending lots of time in the forge. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his gnarled, veined hands looked strained.

"I look terrible," he miserably said after realizing that Zuko was looking at him, completely speechless.

"You've been spending time in the forge?" Zuko asked. He felt a bit ashamed for being so rude.

"Every waking minute," Duan Jie sighed. He continued, "We all have to make sacrifices when the time of war comes. I suppose mine is very little compared to most so it would do me well not to complain."

"I'm guessing it's because more and more people are showing up in the Resistance," Zuko stated.

"You have no idea, my boy. I've stopped taking orders so I could have time to forge new weapons. My shop has been working overtime. And I'm afraid that I'm spending less and less time with my little girls," Duan Jie frowned. He looked very weary and tired.

"You haven't told them?" Zuko said in surprise once he realized that Duan Jie was talking about his daughters.

"Things like these are too dangerous for young girls. I'm afraid that I don't want them to get involved," Duan Jie said.

Zuko sighed heavily and admitted something he had been keeping to himself, "Sometimes I don't want Jin to get involved."

"She's a strong girl, Li. She's like the rock which we all draw power from. She's persevering, strong-willed and enduring and she's very smart and cunning. She can take care of herself," Duan Jie said laughing a little.

"Don't think that I don't know," Zuko said chuckling a little.

"She's a bit too stubborn, I assume," Duan Jie smiled.

"You have no idea," Zuko said as he smiled to himself. Jin was definitely one of the most stubborn people he had met. She never backed down, especially if she thought that she was right. And that was always.

Duan Jie's face however morphed into a look of concern.

"But it's really horrible the way things are turning out with the Fire Nation being here. Brings out bad memories for _everyone_," he muttered under his breath.

Zuko looked away from Duan Jie in guilt. He wondered if this brings out bad memories for Jin. He looked at her strong and proud face and saw that a look of weary betrayed her eyes. He had done this. He had caused all this. If he had helped the Avatar then maybe things would have turned out differently.

He scowled. It doesn't matter now. There was no way he could take back what he had done.

And there was still a part of him that yearned to go home. His desire to feel the soil of his homeland and to feel the love of his father was greater than any other emotions that took over him. He wasn't ready to let the prospect of going home slip away from him yet.

He swallowed thickly before interrupting Duan Jie's rant by saying, "Uh…I think that the meeting's starting."

The last few members started trickling in and Ge Jiang was pounding his fist against the table. Everyone stopped talking and the room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. No one spoke or even whispered as Ge Jiang began talking. It was as if everyone was holding their breaths, waiting for some big news to explode on their faces.

Ge Jiang began with the basics. He announced the presence of new members, made everyone memorize the new password ("Be not afraid of growing slowly—be afraid of standing still"), he asked for volunteers to be the roving guards, and he stressed the importance of new members. While he was talking, he caught Zuko's eye and for a moment, his cool composure faltered and he shot a murderous glare towards Zuko. Zuko glared back at him.

"So….what's this about bringing down the Dai Li?" Zuko asked in an effort to distract himself from Ge Jiang's heated (and annoying) glare.

"Ahh…I'm guessing you've either heard the rumors or Jin told you," Duan Jie said.

"Jin told me," Zuko admitted.

Duan Jie shrugged before nodding, "The three of them have been discussing and toying with the idea for days now. There was a heated debate about it last night. Were you there?"

"Oh no….it's my first time here since last, last night," Zuko said as he shook his head.

"I see. Well…I suppose it's my duty to fill you in. Ge Jiang wanted to launch a full frontal attack on the Dai Li. Jin on the other hand was against it. She said that we still needed members and I'm afraid that she's right. We'd never survive if we pushed through with it," Duan Jie explained.

"And Shen?"

"Neutral, as always. I'm not even sure if he was aware of the fighting. He was composing a love song. But other people weren't as impassive. People started taking sides. Riots broke out again."

Zuko frowned.

"But now that we have about four hundred members and still counting….the rumor has it that Jin and Ge Jiang finally agreed on something. That's why everyone is so excited. This is the first major thing we're about to do against the Dai Li and the Fire Nation," Duan Jie continued.

Sweat glistened as Zuko listened to Duan Jie's account of a possible attack. What was he supposed to do? He can't tell Azula obviously, but neither can he help Jin without arousing Azula's suspicion. Zuko wiped the sweat off his brow in fear.

He turned his attention back to Ge Jiang who was discussing escape routes for civilians.

"My brother has started leading the construction of a tunnel. This tunnel will branch out beyond the wall. We will start grouping civilians and leading them by next week," Ge Jiang announced.

"But the tunnel can be finished by the end of _this week_. Why can't we start the operation by then?" someone from the crowd piped up. He was a strong, big man whose face and beard was covered with layers of dust.

Ge Jiang's face looked deadly serious. In a loud clear voice he said, "It's because we need every man we could get. We're going to take down the Dai Li."

No one looked surprised or shocked. Everyone looked as if they expected it. The room melded into a complete silence. Zuko looked around and noticed that everyone had a look of slight fear in their eyes.

"To those who have joined the meeting last night, you may have noticed that me and my sister were…..having a _slight _disagreement," Ge Jiang said, phrasing his words carefully.

"For the hundredth time," someone in the room coughed.

Ge Jiang frowned but continued, "We have resolved that little issue and we have decided amongst ourselves that it is _time_. The Resistance is ready to take the Dai Li on."

Murmurs rose from the room. Zuko felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"But…but…are you sure we're ready? I know that lately we have more members but the number of people we have is still nothing compared to the Dai Li's," a small timid-looking man spoke up from amongst the noise.

"Which is why we aren't going to go full-frontal," Jin said as she stood up. She looked and sounded confident as she eyed everyone in the room. A wide smile was plastered on her face.

The murmurs grew louder.

"What do you mean?" the small, timid looking man asked.

"What I mean is we're not going to go barging in. We'll never make it," Jin said. The murmurs died down as everyone moved forward to hear her better.

"We're going for something a little bit more…._sneaky_," Jin mischievously said.

"Everyone, come closer to the table. My sister has a really brilliant plan and it requires your full attention," Ge Jiang ordered. Everyone edged closer towards the table. Jin caught Zuko's eye and mouthed "I'm nervous". Zuko sent her a re-assuring smile. Once everyone was settled Jin cleared her throat and began to speak.

"It's really important that we get to the Dai Li and the Fire Nation before they get to_ us _so that's why it's imperative we launch an attack on them first. We can't do anything too big. But we can do something to shake the Dai Li up. Announce our presence. Show them the we mean business," Jin said in a loud, clear voice.

Everyone nodded and chorused agreements.

"So my plan is we won't do anything too serious. We'll start out small. We'll launch an attack that's not too impossible for us," Jin continued.

"But how will we do that? Yes, more and more people are showing up but most of them can't fight very well or they haven't been trained," Nuo asked from the right.

Ge Jiang looked annoyed at the interruption but Jin merely smiled and said, "No one needs to fight. My plan is that we dig a tunnel under their headquarters, evacuate the place, fill it with blasting jelly and blow their headquarters into the sky!"

Zuko's clenched his jaw as everyone erupted into much more cheerful murmurs. He began to twiddle his thumbs. Azula, Ty Lee and Mai usually spend a great amount of time in the Dai Li headquarters. He dreaded to think what would happen if the Resistance blew the whole thing up. Still he was very impressed with the plan. He looked at Ge Jiang and saw that he was looking at his sister with pride. He Shen was giving her a thumbs up as everyone in the Resistance started nodding in approval.

"Is it possible to dig a tunnel under the Dai Li's headquarters? It's already under a lake. Can we go deeper?" someone asked.

Jin looked confident. She said, "It's very possible. I spent much of my day yesterday researching about it. The lake is only about eighteen feet deep. The entire headquarters is about nine to twelve feet high so it's a total of about thirty feet. For the bomb to take effect the tunnel has to be small so the explosion is compacted. We'll seal it in until it can take no more that it has to go upwards. Also, the tunnel will be built near the ground of the Dai Li's headquarters."

"Won't it collapse on us with all that weight piling on top of it?" Jiao yelled from the corner. Zuko turned to look at Jiao's direction and was severely annoyed to see that he had a flirtatious and smug smile on his face.

Jin faltered for a moment. "W-what?"

Jiao stood up and said, "Sorry to disappoint your pretty, little, face—''

Jin exhaled loudly while Zuko scowled and gave a sneer.

"—but the Dai Li said it themselves, that they were risking so much by building their head quarters under a lake. How do we know that the tunnel you plan to make won't collapse with the combined weight of the lake and the Dai Li's headquarters?" Jiao asked. He wagged his eyebrows. Zuko felt the urge to roast him alive.

Jin opened her mouth to answer but He Shen cut her off, speaking for the very first time in this meeting, "That's no problemo, man. I've got it covered."

"Excuse me? And how do you plan on doing it?" Jiao said his voice almost in the form of a sneer. Everyone started expressing their doubts. Zuko clenched his fists. He secretly did not want this plan to push through but he also hated seeing the disappointed look on Jin's face.

Shen sat up a little straighter and said confidently, "Did some research and I discovered lots of awesomely cool stuff. After tunneling, we'll support the walls more by adding in some blue soil. That stuff is majorly sticky and firm, man, I'm telling you. It'll hold anything in place."

.Jiao looked as if he'd been squeeze. He gave an annoyed huff before sitting down.

"But isn't Lake Laogai far from here?" someone asked.

"This coal mine is part of the Old Ba Sing Se. It can branch out to anywhere," Jin diffused quickly.

"Won't the Dai Li hear us when we're making the tunnel?" someone questioned.

"That's exactly why we have to proceed about this quietly," Jin answered.

"But what about the prisoners and innocent civilians trapped in there?" Duan Jie asked with concern. Zuko knew exactly what he was talking about. The Dai Li Headquarters had a few rooms wherein some civilians were kept and were being brainwashed. Zuko felt a bit relieved to find that the plan had a hitch. Jin surely wouldn't push through with this. He knew that she didn't like that innocent people would be put in danger.

Jin smiled as if that wasn't a problem. She explained carefully, "That's exactly why we have to be careful and extremely precise with building the tunnel. We're not going to blow the _whole_ place up."

A few confused looks were exchanged as Jin took a parchment out. It had a detailed sketch of the tunnel they planned to build.

"Our Dai Li correspondent has helped us to get a better sketch of the entire Dai Li headquarters. Shen has spent the whole day making this outline for the tunnel we're about to build. We'll only blow up specific areas we're_ sure _that the Dai Li will be present such as the training grounds and briefing rooms," Ge Jiang explained.

"All in all we'll make about eight tunnels. We've planned it out carefully. The other parts of the Dai Li headquarters—the one where people are being brainwashed—won't collapse with all the bombs we'll be setting off. I'm _positive_ that this will work," Jin confidently said.

"Can't we just wait for the Avatar to lead us?" someone else yelled.

Jin sighed in exasperation and said, "We told you. That Avatar's whereabouts are currently unknown. For now, _we're on our own."_

The heavy truth weighed in on everyone as they realized that the Avatar might not be there for them for a very long time. After a few more questions and expressed doubts, everyone seemed satisfied. Everyone nodded and started murmuring agreements. Jin looked satisfied and so did Ge Jiang.

"The plan is very practical. No one will get hurt or involved and it will be a direct assault on the Dai Li. It will send a clear message—the message that the people of the Earth Kingdom won't take this lying down. It's the perfect plan," Ge Jiang declared.

Murmurs of approval echoed through the whole room. Zuko gulped. This was really happening. He could not believe this. Beside him Duan Jie eagerly nodded before saying, "That girl is brilliant. Just astonishing really. That's a fine girl, you got there, Li."

"Yeah….she's great," Zuko muttered. His thoughts were running a mile a minute now. What was he supposed to do?

"I'm glad everyone approves," Ge Jiang said as the noises grew louder. The murmurs died down a little.

"We plan to do this attack by the end of the week so we'll be working double time in making the tunnel. Can I please have the hands of all earthbenders?" Jin said. Lots of hands rose up. Jin passed a paper around and told all of them to write their names down.

"You're efforts will be all concentrated on building the tunnel," she announced.

"Even those who are making the passageways for the escape routes for the civilians?" the strong, muscled man who spoke up before asked as he wrote his name down.

"Yes. Unfortunately we'll have to halt that operation for awhile. This one is more important. We'll need all the Earthbenders we could get," Ge Jiang said.

"My brother, He Shen will lead this operation," Jin said. He Shen gave a small salute from his seat.

As soon as all the names were written, Jin tucked the paper in a small envelope and announced that the work will begin as soon as the meeting was over. All the Earthbenders gave a weary groan. She then showed a detailed design of the tunnel they were planning to build. He Shen gave a long explanation of how they were going to build it. As soon as he finished Ge Jiang pounded on the table to get everyone's attention before saying, "All non-benders will be divided into two groups. One will be with me. We will be the ones in charge for acquiring the blue soil. It's really expensive and we…..have no funds so…..we'll have to resort to _other methods_ to acquire it."

He said "other methods" in a meaningful tone. Zuko could only think of how Ge Jiang planned on getting it.

"And the other half will be with me. We're going to be making the bombs and acquiring the blasting jelly," Jin announced.

They spent thirty minutes organizing the two groups. Many wanted to be in Jin's group. Zuko guessed it was because she was nicer and kinder than Ge Jiang. Unfortunately it was announced that Ge Jiang and Jin had already chosen the members for their group. Jin began calling out those who would belong to her group.

In a clear voice she said, "Duan Jie, Shu, Nuo, Kreung, Hai,….."

Zuko waited patiently for his name but frowned in disappointment when he realized that Jin had finished but she had not once called his name out. He then started to panic. Why didn't she want him in her group? Was it because she hated him?

He then calmed down after thinking about it more clearly. It seemed as if those in Jin's group were intellectual or were craftsmen. A majority of them were handy with their hands like Duan Jie and scholars who had a lot of knowledge stocked in their brain like Shu or Nuo. Zuko guessed that it was because they'll spend most of their time making bombs.

All those who weren't called automatically belonged in Ge Jiang's group. Zuko frowned. That also included Jiao. He sighed. The two people he disliked the most and who disliked him back, Jiao and Jiang. This was going to be a long siege.

He noticed that those who belonged in Ge Jiang's group looked very strong and it was clear to see that they were fighters. He guessed that whatever they were going to do to get the blue soil would entail physical strength and prowess.

As soon as all that was organized, they began to talk about escape routes for civilians again. That operation would start as soon as their assault with the Dai Li would be finished. They had to start informing civilians however since they anticipated that the Fire Nation would immediately make retribution once the attack was done. The civilians would have to be housed here and divided into groups until further notice.

And with that the meeting came to a close. Everyone dispersed, with the Earthbenders following Shen to a passageway to the right and with all those who volunteered to be the roving guards drifting off into the barracks. Jin weaved her way through the crowd towards Zuko.

She was smiling happily but her face fell once she saw Zuko's troubled expression.

"You're mad," she stated once she drew closer to him.

Zuko snapped back into focus and said, "Huh?"

"You're mad that you're not in my group," Jin said. She twined her fingers around both of Zuko's hands.

"No," Zuko smiled.

"Yes."

"No, I'm not mad."

"Then why do you look mad?"

"I'm just…..I'm just worried."

"What?" Jin frowned. She looked concern.

"It's nothing," Zuko shook his head as the emotions of guilt and shame began to bubble back into the surface. What was he doing? How could he be so incredibly stupid? Why did he even think that he could play along to both sides without hurting anyone? His uncle was right. He can't have it both ways. Zuko breathed in deeply as he tried to take hold of all the overwhelming emotions that was surging through his body.

He wanted to go home. He just couldn't let that go yet. He wanted his life to be back to normal.

"Li? Are you oaky? Are you sick?" Jin asked worriedly. She drew closer towards him. Her big, hazel-green eyes immediately banished all thoughts of the Fire Nation.

"Huh? Oh…um…..I'm fine….."

"I really wanted you to be in my group. _Honestly. _But you know how Jiang could be. I had to prove to him that I could think 'objectively'," Jin said as she made quotation marks in the air. She rolled her eyes.

Zuko blinked at her. Jin took this as a sign that he was still annoyed that she didn't choose him to be in her group. She continued to explained, "I made it clear that the people in my group had to be you know….blacksmiths and people who liked to invent and learn stuff and well….you're kind of the fighting, rough and tumble sort of guy so…..I wanted to be objective. You clearly belonged with Jiang's group."

Zuko quickly snapped back from his thoughts after realizing that Jin was staring at him with her brow furrowed. He quickly said, "What? I'm not mad at you. I understand…perfectly. Sort of."

Jin gave a laugh after seeing that Zuko was smiling again. She ruffled his hair and said, "Besides, I think one of the reasons why he insisted that you be in his group is that he's still suspicious."

"What?" Zuko sputtered worriedly.

Jin, however, smirked and confidently said as they began to exit the Headquarters, "But don't worry, Li. You're going to prove Jiang wrong. I just know you will."

Zuko immediately felt sick to his stomach when he heard that. This was so wrong. He had no idea what he was doing. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. He had no idea what he was about to do. His mind was completely blank. He had no way of moving forward because as of now, he was wedged in between two of the things he cared the most about and he just couldn't bear the thought of letting either one go.

They had now emerged from the tunnel and into a dark alleyway.

Zuko involuntarily gripped Jin's hand tighter.

Jin sent him a worried look. To abate her anxious expression, Zuko sent her wide smile. To his surprise Jin drew closer to him, her eyes big and wide and murmured hopefully, "We'll prove him wrong."

That did it. Zuko felt sick to his stomach and everything was a faded blur. All he could focus on was Jin's eyes—hopeful and re-assuring. He can't hurt her. He just can't do it. But he also wanted to go home. He _needed_ to go home. Zuko felt like a ton of bricks was pile on top of him, crushing him until he could no longer breathe.

He backed away.

"Li? What's wrong?" Jin frowned.

Zuko groaned. He leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before scrambling off, muttering as he ran, "I have to go."

* * *

The dungeon was cold, dark and clammy with its grey and slimy, bricked walls and narrow hallway. His uncle's prison room was at the far edge. It was thick, encased with many centimeters of firm stone. Before Azula moved Iroh to his temporary residence, she made it a point to examine the room. Only the strongest prison room would hold the great Dragon of the West and so far, Zuko was very sure that Azula was having doubts with the room Iroh was in since two Dai Li guards were posted on each side of the door.

Once the Dai Li guards saw him, they gave a low bow.

"Leave," Zuko ordered with a wave of his hand.

One of them tugged at his collar and nervously said, "Um…..but….sir….er….your highness….the princess has told us that no one is to speak with your uncle or we aren't to leave the premises."

Zuko glared at them and his nostrils flared in annoyance. He should be worried that he was undermining a direct order from Azula but as of now, he didn't care. He desperately needed to talk to his uncle.

In his anger he involuntarily made the torches that glowed around him brighter.

The Dai Li guards cowered slightly in their places. The one who spoke up muttered, "But….I guess since you're her brother we could make an exception."

They all quickly scrambled away but before they did so, Zuko grabbed the shoulder of one Dai Li guard and said threateningly, "No one needs to know about this."

The Dai Li guard gave a quick nod before joining his comrades.

Zuko huffed before rolling his shoulders as he prepared himself. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid. He was scared of what his uncle might say. Zuko was very sure that Iroh was not very happy with him lately. Zuko rubbed his fingers together before peering over the small rectangular opening that was barred.

His uncle was there, sitting in the middle of the room, doing nothing but staring at grey walls. His clothes had become ratty and worn down. Rats and strange bugs scuttled across the floor. Zuko immediately felt sorry for his uncle. His back was turned from Zuko.

"Uncle?" Zuko called.

Iroh didn't answer.

"_Uncle!"_

Still no answer.

"_Uncle Iroh!"_

Silence.

Zuko took a deep breath before continuing, "Uncle, you have to help me. I don't know what I'm doing. I am so confused."

His uncle remained still. No reaction, no comment. Just pure, empty silence.

"Jin is in the Resistance. She's one of the leaders and she….she sort of added me to the Resistance," Zuko said even though his uncle didn't answer him. The truth was he just needed someone who knew the whole truth about him. He just needed someone he could trust. He needed his uncle's comfort.

Iroh stiffened when he heard that Jin was in the Resistance.

"There's going to be an attack, uncle. And I'm part of it," Zuko said.

His uncle didn't so much as move a finger. He continued to sit there, without talking.

Zuko scowled in frustration and snapped, "Uncle, what do I do? I need your advice!"

Zuko realized that his uncle would never answer him. He was angry with him. Zuko couldn't believe it. He was alone. He had no idea what to do and his uncle refused to give him counsel. Suddenly, his own anger took over him. Zuko gripped the bars tighter and yelled in anger, "I need you uncle! I need your advice and right now you're abandoning me! I can't believe you!"

And with that Zuko turned around and started to stomp away.

"Just like you abandoned me?"

It was a whisper, barely audible but Zuko heard it clearly. Zuko froze in his steps and he felt the shame and the guilt and the feelings of regret wash over him.

"I'm sorry uncle," Zuko whispered.

Not a sound was heard for a very long time. Zuko stood there with his back turned against the prison room while his uncle continued to sit in the middle of the room in silence.

Finally, in a louder tone his uncle spoke, "I don't know what you are planning to do Prince Zuko. But Jin is a kind and sweet girl."

Zuko clenched his fist.

"Don't do anything to hurt her," Iroh said.

"I want to go home uncle. But I can't do it without hurting Jin," Zuko said. He felt hopeful. Maybe his uncle would give him advice that was actually helpful.

"You already know what you're supposed to do," was all that his uncle said before Zuko lost all his patience and temper. This was not helping! He gave an anguished cry and blew a puff of smoke through his nostrils before storming off, leaving his uncle in silence.

* * *

"What's the Fire Nation like?" Jin murmured as she traced imaginary circles on Zuko's chest. The two of them were sprawled out across a grassy field that rose into a small hill. A tree stood over them, bending and swaying as the cool breeze hit across the whole area. The stars were out that night and they were sprinkled across the night sky.

Zuko was lying down while Jin was curled up against his side with her head angled slightly on his chest. Zuko wasn't even so sure how they ended up in that position. They had spent most of the evening picking out shape patterns in the stars but the two of them got so wrapped up in their thoughts that they eventually progressed into a lulled silence with Jin absentmindedly making shapes on Zuko's chest and with Zuko stroking Jin's hair.

Zuko stiffened from the noise, startled to be interrupted from his thoughts but relaxed after realizing that it was just Jin. He eased into a smile before saying, "Hm?"

"What's the Fire Nation like?" Jin repeated. She propped her elbows up and placed her hands on her chin. She looked at Zuko intently. Zuko frowned before sitting up. Jin had hit a particularly sensitive nerve. He was trying his best to forget about the Fire Nation and everything else in general. He wanted to prolong the big decision he was about to make.

The truth was he understood what his uncle had told him perfectly. He did know what he was supposed to do. He had to make a choice. But unfortunately, he didn't want do it yet. He didn't want to be faced with any decisions mostly because the lines and boundaries between the two things he wanted was starting to get blurred with each passing day.

And the fact that he was spending this romantic evening with Jin was not helping in any way whatsoever.

"Why do you want to know?" Zuko asked after awhile.

Jin shrugged before saying, "I don't know. It's just that, I'm so curious to know what your homeland was like."

She snuggled closer to him and Zuko was forced to lie down again. Jin placed her head on his chest. Zuko heaved a great sigh before reluctantly saying, "It's….it's beautiful."

"That's it?" Jin frowned.

"That's all I can say."

"Why is it beautiful?" Jin asked. She began to play with his hair. Zuko frowned. He really didn't want to talk about it but Jin's big, hazel-green eyes were very distracting.

"It just is," Zuko managed to say.

"There has to be more to that. Come on. Tell me. Is it because…..of the beautiful _girls_?" Jin said. She pretended to look jealous.

"What! No!" Zuko said, panicked. He was afraid that Jin might be really mad. Jin gave a big laugh.

"I'm only messing with you," she whispered in his ear.

"It's not funny."

"You're so easy to rile up."

Zuko huffed before saying in a teasing tone, "And besides…..the only pretty girls are here in Ba Sing Se."

He leaned towards her and gave her a kiss on the lips. When they parted Jin gave a small laugh as Zuko wound his arm around her waist. Zuko pressed his lips against her forehead and murmured lazily, "The sunset and the sunrise. That's what's beautiful about the Fire Nation. _The sun_."

"Tell me what it's like," Jin sighed as her eyes became half-lidded.

Zuko paused before continuing, "It's like the sky is on fire. The sky bleeds red, gold and orange. I used to remember waking up to it every day. I had this big window, overlooking my bed so the sun is the first and last thing I see before I wake up or go to bed. Sometimes, me and my mother watch it from the turtle duck pond."

"Turtle duck?" Jin giggled.

"Yes, turtle ducks. Another great thing about the Fire Nation. Turtle duck ponds. Me and my mom…..we used….we used to feed them together," Zuko 's voice faltered at the memory of his mother. The decisions and choices he had made….would his mother be proud of them or would she be disappointed? Zuko began to seriously ponder about it.

Jin's eyes became a pool of sadness. In a strangely quiet voice she said, "My mom used to have this garden. You see, she loved flowers. Me and her, we used to stay there, talking and walking and planting…"

"I see where you got your love of flowers," Zuko chuckled. Jin smiled and laughed along with him, much to his relief. It was very rare that Jin was sad so Zuko had no clue what to do when she started looking or feeling sad.

"Do you miss it?" Jin asked.

"Miss what?"

"The Fire Nation."

Zuko closed his eyes and admitted, "Always."

Zuko opened his eyes and was disappointed to see that Jin was looking at him with a sad expression. She placed a hand on his cheek and said re-assuringly, "Don't worry, Li. This war will be over soon. And when there's peace….you can go home."

Zuko shivered after realizing that he could go home by next week if he wanted. But he's not sure if that's what he really wanted. Zuko frowned to himself. He couldn't believe that he had gotten himself into this. If he hadn't allowed his relationship with Jin to go further he might not have to be stuck with this decision. Zuko internally scowled.

"I want to go there sometime," Jin lazily said as she traced his jawline with her hand. Her touch made his skin tingle.

Zuko felt his previous confusion diffusing. He pictured the Fire Nation with its vast buildings and the sun hovering above it, with all its glory. But that scene quickly melted into Ba Sing Se—the Lower Ring with its overcrowded streets, the middle ring with its modest homes and the Upper Ring with its stately houses and manors. And Jin was always there, with her smile, warm and disarming.

"Huh?" Zuko said dazedly as Jin's fingers continued to trail along his skin, all the way to his cheek. He was losing his train of thought.

"The Fire Nation. I want to go there sometime and see this really…brilliant sun….you were talking about," Jin murmured as her fingers began to explore the area where his scar was. Zuko stiffened as her fingers came into contact with his scarred tissue.

Jin noticed his apprehension because she paused. Zuko glared at her, his eyes heated. The scar was a forbidden topic. An unspoken rule hung in the air that Jin was never to mention it. She wasn't even supposed to touch it.

Jin however, matched his heated glare defiantly. She did not once removed her hand from his scar. They didn't speak or move for the longest of time. They only looked at each other with intense gazes. Zuko felt his resolve crumbling. Jin would win. She always will. She was much more stubborn and persistent then him. She always got what she wanted.

Zuko gave a defeated sigh and Jin took it as signal to continue.

Her soft and slender fingers began to explore his scar, moving her fingers at an excruciatingly slow pace. But Zuko could not deny that her touch gave him goosebumps. Jin continued to trail her fingers. She outlined the shape of his scar before tenderly touching the burnt lids of his eyes.

Zuko didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to speak? Or should he just stay still?

Jin began to move on to his ear. She touched his outer ear and she began to gently stroke it. Zuko involuntarily gripped her waist tighter.

To his shock, Jin sat up a little, looked at him with an expression he could not understand before leaning forward and giving a small, soft kiss on his scar. Her lips started to go downwards, leaving a trail of kisses as she traced his jawline. Zuko's vision started to swim.

When she finally reached his lips, she breathed, "I'm sorry."

Zuko didn't answer her. Instead, he lunged forward and kissed her.

* * *

"Um…Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee's head perked up as she heard her name being called. She looked up and was mildly surprised to see that it was Zuko who had called her. She, Mai and Zuko were all holed up in the library while Azula was off in some other part of the palace probably terrorizing most of the palace help. Zuko actually wanted to get away from Azula, Mai and Ty lee but it seemed as if that was not possible since Mai and Ty Lee had made it their mission to keep an eye on him. Mai was throwing her knives at ancient (and probably extremely important) books while Ty Lee busied herself by making a flower necklace. Zuko just sat on a chair and stared at a weird painting without speaking for a long time. He looked as if he was deep in thought.

"I kind of need some advice," Zuko mumbled, speaking for the first time.

Mai maintained her dull expression but her eyes flashed a look of interest. Ty Lee frowned, confused. Zuko never asked her for advice, especially from her. Zuko had always thought that she was completely clueless.

"Advice? You want to ask advice from _me_?" Ty Lee said.

"It's about…um…..well….it's about girl trouble," Zuko finally managed to say.

Ty Lee's expression brightened up while Mai stopped playing with her knives completely. Ty Lee knew that she was supposed to be spending all her efforts in breaking up Zuko and Jin but so far she was having a really difficult time since Zuko was never around anymore and he didn't bring her along to meet Jin. And other than that, Ty Lee was a hopeless romantic and she found it impossibly cute to see Zuko fall over himself as he tried to impress Jin. And she can't deny the fact that the two of them make a great couple.

But still she was hoping that the two had an argument. It would make her job so much easier. Ty Lee leaned forward and said a little too hopefully, "What happened? Did you have a fight?"

Zuko began to squirm in his place. He gulped before continuing, "It's nothing like that…_yet._ It's just that…I um…I really, really like her and well…you know, she doesn't really know the whole truth about me and the thing is her brother is really suspicious—''

"She has a brother?" Ty Lee interrupted.

Zuko scowled in annoyance before saying, "Yes, two of them, actually. Anyway—''

"Two? Are they cute?" Ty Lee asked.

"I guess so…"

"Do you think you could hook me and Mai up?"

Mai gave a loud but annoyed yawn. Ty Lee shrugged, looked at her and said, "What?"

"Look! The point is I like her and…and well…her brother…her brother doesn't really like _me_ and we have this um…_trip_ coming up. And Jin is expecting me to impress her brother or something," Zuko muttered.

"Then I don't really understand what you're asking advice about. Isn't it kind of obvious? Impress him," Ty Lee frowned.

"But he can't be impressed," Zuko said.

"I'm sure that's not true."

"But it is."

"Why does your aura have to be so negative?"

"_She's counting on me._ I think she's expecting to be best friends with him by the end of the day," Zuko said miserably.

"She's going to understand, Zuko. And anyway, I think you have bigger issues than impressing her brother. Does she know that by next week, the Fire Nation Army will formally arrive?" Ty Lee asked, quickly remembering what Azula told her to do.

"Oh. Right. That. Well….she sort of….knows. I guess," Zuko looked down and avoided Ty lee's gaze. Ty Lee didn't seem to believe him.

"You have to break up with her," Ty Lee blurted out.

"_What!"_

"Subtle," Mai said sarcastically.

Ty Lee groaned and realized that she did not exactly subtly get her message across Zuko. Ty Lee toyed with the hem of her sleeve before saying, "It's the only solution. Your dad is expecting you to be home by next week. You can't just wait before she finds out, herself. The only real solution is to end it before….you know…someone gets hurt."

"Isn't that a little too drastic?" Zuko said.

"Well, what do you want me to say Zuko?"

"You're the one who's supposed to know this stuff! You've had like….thirty boyfriends!" Zuko said.

"Thirty-one," Mai corrected.

"Which is exactly why I have experience in stuff like these. And from my experience, if you wait until the truth blows up in your face, then the two of you will both hurt each other. It's better to end things before bad things happen," Ty Lee said as she stumbled to form one coherent phrase.

"Or you could just wait until she finds out and kills you," Mai monotonously said as she began to swing her knives.

Zuko seemed to have taken Mai's advice a bit more into consideration. Ty Lee groaned as she slapped her forehead.

"I think I'll take the second option," Zuko mumbled.

"I don't even get why you're considering _any _options. Either way, you'll get yourself mauled by a hundred tons of rocks by an angry girl," Mai yawned.

Zuko grumbled something incomprehensible while Ty Lee giggled and squealed, "Oooh! You're right Mai! You're so smart! Are you sure you've never had a boyfriend?"

Mai examined her nails before saying in a dull tone, "The only boyfriend I'll ever have is a spiderfish. They're easy to keep under control and if I get bored—which is usually in about every fifteen seconds—I could easily replace it with something better."

Zuko raised a brow while Ty Lee broke out into a loud laughter. She giggled, "Funny."

Mai blew on her nails before saying dully, "I'm a riot."

Zuko looked at the time and saw that it was almost sundown which means that the he had to get to the Lower Ring. Tonight was the night wherein he would meet up with Ge Jiang and his group. They would start acquiring the blue soil. Zuko sighed. That meant that he had only two days before Jin and the entire Resistance blow the Dai Li's headquarters up. He knew that he had to decide quickly. Because three nights after the Resistance blows up the headquarters, they would all be leaving for home and Azula is not taking a "no" for her answer.

Zuko exhaled loudly before abruptly standing up interrupting Mai and Ty Lee's conversation.

"I have to go…er…somewhere," Zuko said as he left.

"What? But….but…wouldn't you rather stay here in this warm, cozy library?" Ty Lee said remembering what Azula instructed her to do.

"I won't be gone long. I'll be back before you know it," Zuko said.

"Me and Mai will come with you!"

"No! What I mean is….I don't really want some company for…..um…what I'm planning to do," Zuko said.

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed in suspicion but she eventually relented. She sighed, "Fine. I guess we might as well catch up with Azula in Lake Laogai."

Zuko stiffened after hearing the word "Lake Laogai". He quickly remembered what the Resistance planned to do.

Zuko spun around and said, "Whatever you do…don't go to the headquarters by the end of this week."

Ty Lee frowned, "Why not?"

"Just don't. No matter what you do, _just don't._ Tell Azula too," he said as he headed out the doorway.

"Why? What's going to happen?" Ty lee asked curiously.

Zuko paused and said cryptically, "It's just something I heard through the grapevine. _Something bad _is about to happen."

* * *

The corridor was deathly quiet and empty. Zuko craned his ear to hear better and when he was sure that no one would pass by it for a long time, he dropped to the ground from perch he was hanging on and signaled Jiao, Ge Jiang and two burly lads who were about fourteen to fifteen years old named Guai and Long to come down too. The four of them all dropped down and looked around the corridor edgily. Jiao was looking his usual arrogant self while Ge Jiang looked around coolly. The two younger boys, who were brothers, but both looked so much alike that they could pass off as twins, were looking around nervously. Guai was pulling at his shirt while Long was biting his lower lip.

And Zuko could not blame them for being nervous.

Adrenaline was pumping into his system and his heart hammered against his chest. They had sneaked into the Upper Ring and past the gate into the Ba Sing Se Bureau of Import. It was a low but long gray building and like most buildings in Ba Sing Se it was made out of stone and rocks. It wasn't as heavily guarded like the other buildings in Government district so it was easy for all five of them to make it past the guards.

They had come here to steal blue soil. Ge Jiang at first wanted to take only four people with him to go on what he called an "experimental mission." Jiang wanted to check the defenses, scope the place out, and if possible, bring back some blue soil as a sample. The real mission would happen tonight once Ge Jiang saw what they would be up against.

Truth to be told, Zuko felt that Ge Jiang didn't really want him along. He suspected that Jin had a hand at this. Zuko sighed. He wished that Jin would stop trying to push him and her brother into being friends. It made him feel as if she was counting on him to make peace with Ge Jiang. Zuko also suspected that Jiang only picked Jiao to annoy him given that Jiang knew how much Zuko and Jiao hated each other. He wasn't exactly sure why Ge Jiang picked the two younger boys. In his opinion, bringing them along was too dangerous. They were both young and severely inexperienced. He shrugged. But what does he know? He wasn't the leader of the Resistance.

Zuko bit his lower lip and gripped the hilt of his Dual Dao swords tighter. He was extremely nervous. He had experienced stealing things before but they were small jobs. He had never stolen something with a scale as big as this. They were breaking into one of the Dai Li's buildings and from Ge Jiang's explanation blue soil was something extremely expensive. That's why they had to resort to stealing it. Jin didn't seem too pleased when she heard Ge Jiang's plan of acquiring it but she eventually relented after understanding that it was the only way they were ever going to acquire it.

"You okay, kid?" Zuko asked as Guai continued to pull at his shirt.

"Not really," he said.

Beside him, his brother kept on looking around as if he was expecting Dai Li Agents to suddenly burst out from the walls.

Zuko clamped a hand on Guai's shoulder and said comfortingly, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say. You could probably hack off someone's head with your swords in two seconds," Long snorted.

Zuko smirked.

"Jin told me that you two are one of the best benders she has ever worked with. You'll do fine," Zuko assured.

Guai and Long smiled at him. The three of them quickly ran closer towards Ge Jiang who signaled them to come closer. The five of them huddled as Ge Jiang started giving instructions.

"They organized their imported stocks by the place it's been imported from. Blue soil comes from Gaoling so it's probably somewhere in the east wing. Me, Jiao and _Li—''_ Jiang wrinkled his nose and said the word "Li" as if he had just eaten something really nasty.

"—will scope the place out, grab a few bags maybe. Guai and Long, I want you two to be the look-outs," he said looking at the two younger boys.

Guai paled and long looked nervous.

"You're going to leave us here _alone_?" Guai asked, horrified.

"What if we do encounter some Dai Li Agents?" Long asked worriedly. Ge Jiang broke from his usual cool demeanor by giving them a warm smile. Zuko stared at him. He had never seen Ge Jiang smile in that way before. He looked a lot like Jin when he smiled.

"Don't worry. Send a signal if Dai Li Agents are approaching but you can't run until we've arrived. You have to wait. _No one_ gets left behind. But whatever you do, don't pick a fight, understand? We don't want to attack attention or give them any reasons to get violent. Remember, _we can't be seen._ I want this to be done quietly. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes," Ge Jiang whispered.

Everyone nodded and soon they quickly separated with Ge Jiang, Jiao and Zuko scrambling off into different directions once they reached the East Wing and with Guai and Long taking their posts at the corridor.

Zuko started going through different rooms and chambers in the East Wing. Each room was filled with an assortment of things. A golden plate with the engraved name of the place where the objects were from was plastered in front of every door.

Things were going fine at first. Zuko got a chance to take a breather from Ge Jiang and Jiao for awhile and so far, no one had noticed his presence. He was very skilled in stealth and he had already managed to examine five rooms without attracting anyone's attention. He had seen so many things that were interesting. He saw a room full of tops that were imported from Yongku, a room full of rugs from Sichuan and he even saw a room full of flowers that were all imported from Yaodu. Zuko's eyes widened when he saw a Fire Blossom. It wasn't in full bloom but it still looked beautiful with its vibrant red color and golden speckled undertone. Remembering how much Jin loved flowers, Zuko knew that he just had to pick it up for Jin. He grabbed one and tucked it in his pocket before going on his way.

Things however, took a turn for the worse when he entered a room full of weaponry and found Jiao toying with a big, bronze sword. He tossed it up in the air and fell on the floor with a CLANG!

"Stop playing with that. You're making too much noise," Zuko snapped.

Jiao flinched but gave a sneer once he found out that it was just Zuko.

"Oh. It's just you," he said. He continued to play with sword making small but audible noises by banging it against the wall.

"Quit it! You'll attract attention!" Zuko barked.

"And who are you to boss people around?"

'I'm not bossing—''

Jiao interrupted him again by leaning against the wall and saying arrogantly, "Just because you're dating one of the…'leaders'—'' he made quotation marks in the air. "—does not mean that I'll be taking order from _you."_

Zuko scowled before proceeding to stomp off.

"I don't have time for this," he muttered through his gritted teeth.

"You know, I never really knew why Jin was so attracted to you in the first place. But I guess that's the problem with her. _She's too nice._ She'll go out with any loser who has a sob story," Jiao said easily. He gestured at Zuko's scar.

Zuko inhaled deeply and tried to keep his temper in check but he was failing miserably. All he wanted to do was to roast Jiao alive.

"At least she has the common sense to not go out with a brainless dimwit," Zuko spat.

Jiao's brows dipped and he glared at Zuko. He crossed his arms before saying, "She may have common sense but she doesn't have the strength. Jin's really gorgeous but….I mean come on, Li. That's all she is. She doesn't have what it takes to lead a Resistance. The people will pummel her to the ground once her stupid, little plan fails—''

Zuko lost all his patience and calm. All he saw was red. In his anger, he lunged forward, tackled him and together they crashed into a set of shields making a loud, banging noise. Zuko, however, did not care about Ge Jiang's warning of proceeding with this mission "quietly". He just wanted to pound Jiao's head against the shield and hope that it would dent his skull.

Jiao gave a growl as he swung a punch at Zuko's face. Zuko easily blocked it and he managed to grab Jiao's wrist and twist it into a painful direction.

"Don't talk to her in that way," Zuko warned as Jiao whimpered.

"Lighten up….Li….I was only teasing," Jiao managed to choke.

"You were insulting her," Zuko snapped his nostrils flaring.

"I was telling the truth," Jiao defiantly spat.

Zuko clicked his teeth before muttering through gritted teeth, "You were mocking her. I won't have you violating my girlfriends' honor—''

Zuko paused. He let go of Jiao's arm and stood up as he craned his neck to hear better. He heard harried footsteps—it was as if someone was running—accompanied by loud voices. Behind him, Jiao cursed and rubbed his pained wrist. He glared at Zuko, picked up a shield and made a move to bang his head with it.

Zuko however merely tossed the shield away with a flick of his palm. It crashed into a set of spears.

Jiao pointed a finger at him and snapped, "You've got a lot of nerve—''

"We have to go," Zuko said as he drummed his fingers against the hilt of his Dual Dao swords.

"What?" Jiao said not comprehending their current situation.

Zuko rolled his eyes before hissing, "We've got company."

And with that he slammed against the door and burst into the hallway with Jiao following him. They sprinted forward and turned left, against a blind corner. Zuko was vaguely aware that they were now being pursued. He could hear the footsteps, matching their stride evenly as they tried to catch up with the two of them.

He panicked once he realized that if they were to catch even a glimpse of him, the Dai Li Agents would know his true identity and inform Azula.

"We can't keep running. We'll have to fight," Jiao panted.

"No fights. Jiang clearly told us," Zuko argued. He can't fight them. If he turned around and fought them then they would see that he was the Prince of the Fire Nation. He could not risk that.

"Why are you afraid! There are only three of them. We could take them!" Jiao cried in frustration. He whirled around to face them but Zuko wasn't having any of it. If Jiao fought the Dai Li then Zuko would be forced to fight and they would know who he was. It would be extremely suspicious if the prince of Fire Nation was gallivanting with some peasant and breaking in into a Dai Li building.

"_NO!" _he yelled as he grabbed Jiao's arm in mid-turn and slammed into a room pulling Jiao with him. They crashed into the room where Zuko felt another body slam into them. Together they tumbled into the wall. Zuko groaned his head pounding. He had landed on something soft and sticky. He looked around and saw Jiao rubbing his head on one corner.

"What are you two doing in here?" a voice hissed.

Zuko turned around and saw Jiang. He was grasping something in his hands. It was a sack and something wet and sticky was protruding out of it. The thing was a strange bluish-grey color. Zuko's eyes widened.

"Is that the—''

They heard noises coming from the hallway. Zuko stood up and helped Jiao to stand up. In a panicked tone he said, "We have to get out of here. The Dai Li—''

"_What!_" Jiang cried. He looked extremely angry.

"The Dai Li Agents are coming," Zuko hissed. He grabbed as many sacks as he could.

"I told you not to attract attention!" Ge Jiang scowled.

"This is all Li's fault!" Jiao accused.

"I'm not the one who was making noises with the sword!" Zuko shot back.

"Nothing would have happened if you hadn't tackled me!" Jiao snapped.

"You two were fighting?" Ge Jiang barked. Sweat was trickling out of his forehead. His face's expression looked like a cross between a look of anger and a look of anxiousness.

"He insulted your sister and questioned _your_ authority!" Zuko said as he pointed a finger at Jiao.

"What!" Ge Jiang roared. He looked at Jiao and glared at him. Jaio cowered and muttered, "Um…I don't think yelling at each other is the best way to not attract attention…"

"If you hadn't been making so much noise with that dumb sword—''

"Hey, I didn't make too much noise! At least not as much noise as when you slammed me into the wall!" Jiao protested.

"If you hadn't provoked me—''

"Shut up! _Shut up!_ Shut up both of you! This is a disaster! We weren't supposed to be seen! No one was supposed to know about us!" Ge Jiang snapped. He took three calming breaths before proceeding to pile as many sacks as he could on his shoulder.

"We have to leave quickly before they call re-enforcements and surround us," he muttered.

"Shouldn't we just leave the blue soil? This way they won't know what we came here for," Zuko said.

"No. It's too late. They'll tighten security the next time we attempt to come here. This might be our only chance. Take as many as you can," Jiang ordered.

Zuko, Jiao and Jiang piled the sacks on their shoulders and together they scrambled away just as the Dai Li Agents burst in.

"Don't let them see your faces! You don't want them to be in a wanted poster by the end of the morning!" Jiang ordered as they hurried down the corridor.

Running with sacks full of soil was very difficult. It slowed them down. By the time they caught a glimpse of Guai and Long eight more Dai Li Agents had joined the previous three. Guai and Long's eyes widened once they saw the three teenagers rushing in.

"The Dai Li?" Guai asked.

"Earthbend the wall! Now!" Ge Jiang ordered as he sped towards them. Guai and Long seemed to have froze up but they quickly got a move on it once they saw the Dai Li Agents trailing behind their friends. The two of them took a deep breath before slamming their fists against the wall to their right. The wall crumbled and formed a good-sized opening.

"Get in! Get in there!" Ge Jiang roared. The two boys scrambled in with Zuko, Jiao and Jiang following close behind. The Dai Li Agents seemed to have decided that it was time to act violent. Earth Columns rose from the ground as they ran across the room. Zuko and the three other boys followed him. Stone gloves and bullets whizzed past their head. One stone glove hit Guai in the shoulder causing him to fall. Jiang barely hesitated.

"Pick him up," he ordered without looking at Guai. Long grabbed his brother by the arm and supported him as they ran. Zuko tried not to look back. He can't get his face recognized.

"The window," Ge Jiang muttered, gesturing to the tall and wide window that was at the far left of the room. The five of them immediately scrambled towards it. Jiao got there first. He dropped the sacks he was carrying before jumping out. Long and Guai followed, with Guai giving a high-pitched scream as they tumbled down. Jiang was next. He swung to his left and avoided a stone glove before looking over at the window.

"Go!" Zuko prodded. The sacks were starting to seriously hurt his back.

"You go first!"

"Jiang…."

"My sister would kill me if anything bad happened to—_Look out!"_

Zuko had no choice. He looked back and saw an earth spike pummeling towards him. Zuko ducked and so did Jiang. The spike sailed out the window. Zuko could not believe himself. One Dai Li Agent recognized him. Zuko looked at the man as his eyes widened in recognition. Zuko glared back at him angrily.

The man who recognized him held a hand up and whispered something to the man who seemed to be their leader. Zuko barely had time to process it all.

"Come on, Li!" Jiang cried as he grabbed Zuko's shoulder. Ge Jiang pulled Zuko with him as they jumped out the window. Once they landed, they immediately began to run as fast as they could away from the palace. Long and Guai ran behind them, with Long staggering from the Guai's weight. They didn't stop or look back until they reached the middle ring.

They sought refuge under a bridge. They were all tired. Their backs and shoulders were sore from carrying all that weight of the blue soil. Zuko felt as if the air had been knocked right out of his lungs.

"We did it. I can't believe that we actually escaped," Jiao wheezed.

"We escaped _narrowly. _And to top it all off someone got injured," Jiao said as he looked at Guai's direction. Despite the fact that he was gasping for some air he still looked extremely stern and angry with his narrowed, green eyes.

"Ooohh….my shoulder…"Guai groaned. Long rolled his sleeves up and Zuko was disgusted to see that his shoulder got bruised and the skin was turning into a motley, purplish-blue color.

Long frowned, "It looks pretty bad."

"It hurts even if I move slightly," Guai groaned.

"This is not good. The Dai Li now knows that we're up to something. If you two hadn't been so incompetent, things would have gone smoothly!" Jiang snapped.

"Hey! At least we got what we wanted!" Jiao argued.

"We got someone injured," Ge Jiang shortly said.

After a few more minutes of wheezing and panting they grabbed the sacks and started journeying towards the Lower Ring.

"You do realize that we've blown our cover? The Dai Li would know that something was wrong," Ge Jiang said in a steely voice.

"So what? How are they gonna know what we plan to do with the blue soil?" Jiao said.

"We should have been more careful," Jiang insistently said. They travelled in silence for a while.

Finally Ge Jiang spoke as they exited the Middle Ring, "Why isn't anyone chasing us?"

Jiao, Guai and Long stared at him blankly. Zuko was interrupted from his troubled thoughts.

"You want someone to chase us?" Long frowned.

Ge Jiang looked around suspiciously before continuing, "It's just…..weird. They're letting us off too easy. That's not the Dai Li's style."

He then turned to look at Zuko.

"And did you notice that back there….when we still hadn't jumped off the window….the Dai Li suddenly stopped attacking us?" he asked.

"Yeah….weird," Zuko mumbled. He hoped that his discomfort would not be noticed. Ge Jiang however seemed to catch it. He stared at Zuko silently before facing forward and saying, "Come on. We have to go to the Headquarters. We need to get Guai treated."

Zuko knew that Jiang was suspicious but he couldn't care less. He had bigger problems.

He was in big trouble.

One Dai Li Agent had seen him.

He was so sure that the Dai Li Agent recognized him.

He could still recall the shock look on his face when Zuko turned around.

The Dai Li Agent knew.

And before the night ends, Azula would know too.

* * *

"Li!" Jin cried as she barreled straight towards him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug, causing Zuko to drop all the sacks he was carrying. Jiang emerged from behind him with Jiao and Long supporting his staggering brother, Guai. Ge Jiang wrinkled his nose once he saw Jin hugging Zuko while Jiao merely shot an angry and somewhat smug look. Zuko made a "you're dead" sign at Jiao. Long and Guai were immediately greeted by other Resistance members where they were steered into another room.

Jin pressed her forehead against his and their noses nudged. Zuko felt all his previous worries melt away. Suddenly she gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Hey!" Zuko protested.

"Why is it that you always want me to think that you have died or something!" Jin frowned.

"If it weren't for the fact that I was dating you, Ge Jiang would have probably killed me before we even started," Zuko chuckled as Jin pressed her lips against his.

Jin frowned once she heard what he had said.

"It didn't turn out too well?" she asked.

"We got caught."

"What?" Jin eyes widened.

"And the rest just went downhill after that. We can't go back anymore. By then the Dai Li would have tightened security."

"What happened?" Jin asked as Zuko grabbed a stool and took a seat.

"Well….things became fine….but um…..we…I sort of got into an argument with Jiao—''

"Li! You were supposed to make Ge Jiang like you! Not make him want to slam your head with a bong!" Jin scolded.

"Jiao was insulting you!"

"So? That is no reason for you to jeopardize the mission—''

"I was just trying to defend you!" Zuko argued.

"No, _you _probably just lost your _temper."_

Zuko guiltily looked down before muttering, "Well….a part of it might have been that…."

"You should really start taking some anger management classes."

"I don't need them! I can control my temper just fine!" Zuko peevishly snapped. Jin laughed and kissed his nose.

"And besides…Li. I'm not the kind of girl who finds it attractive when a man starts fighting my own battles. If Jiao insults me next time….." Jin stroked his hair before continuing, "….then I'll deal with him _myself."_

Zuko suddenly remembered the Fire Blossom he had found. Zuko slyly looked at Jin before procuring the flower.

"I got this for you," Zuko said.

"Oh...wow! What is it?" Jin asked in awer. She gingerly cradled the flower in her hands.

"It's a fire blossom."

"Where did you get it?" she gasped.

"It was one of the imports. I wanted to give it to you...so you know...you'll get a glimpse of what my home is like," Zuko whispered as he kissed her cheek. Jin blushed before saying, "I'll make sure to plant it."_  
_

"How's the bomb-making?" Zuko asked in an effort to silence Jin's giggles.

"It's going along more smoothly than you and Jiang's mission," Jin snorted.

"Is something wrong with Ge Jiang? He seems to hate me even more than usual," Zuko said.

"You mean aside from the fact that you and Jiao just completely ruined the whole mission?"

Zuko scowled.

Jin laughed before continuing, "It's Yun. They broke up."

"What!"

Jin looked sad. She said, "He's been very busy lately and well….Yun got mad that they never spend any time together anymore."

"She doesn't know that he's the all powerful leader of the Resistance?"

"She does. She's a member even but….I don't think she understands that as of now….he doesn't have much time to take her out. They got into a big argument."

"That's a stupid reason to break up," Zuko frowned.

"Well I certainly hope you won't break up with me because of that. I have been….really busy too you know."

Zuko chuckled. He grabbed her hips and drew her closer to him. He smirked, "Never."

He Shen's head suddenly popped up from one of the tunnels. He called, "Hey lovebirds! Sorry to interrupt but we need the blue soil….like _now._"

Zuko and Jin laughed. Jin grabbed one sack. Zuko argued that he could carry all of it himself but Jin was just as stubborn as ever. The two of them headed down to the tunnel where they were going to bomb the Dai Li.

It was Zuko's first time seeing the tunnel. The tunnel that they were planning to bomb was very small and narrow. The Earthbenders building it had to crawl or stoop as they bent new sections. It seemed as if work for the tunnel was non-stop. Zuko could see a few weary Earthbenders, resting or sleeping in one corner, their faces smudged in dirt and grime.

"Hey, man! Sis! Check my tunnel out. It is awesomeee!" He Shen howled as he strung his liuqin wildly. Zuko got a closer look at He Shen and saw that he also looked tired. His hair was messier than usual and his face was covered in layers of dirt and dust. His hands looked gnarled and strained.

"I have the other sacks of blue soil," Zuko said as he placed the sacks in one corner where it was grouped. Jin followed him and dropped her sack.

"Is it enough?" Jin frowned as she examined all the sacks.

He Shen's shoulders sagged and he said, "Not as much as I would have liked but not to worry, my darling sis. Figured something like this might happen. So I did some research beforehand and I discovered some really major stuff. We could totally work this out. We'll just have to mix the blue soil with some gravel. It won't be as strong as pure blue soil but it'll hold until we blow all the bombs up."

"That's great. Did you tell Jiang about this?"

He Shen shuffled his feet before saying, "Um…yeah. About Jiang, I think that you should lay off him for awhile. He ran into Yun on his way here and plus he's super mad at –'' He Shen jerked a thumb at Zuko's direction. Zuko frowned. "—so he's not really in the mood to talk or like…be nice to anyone, right now."

Jin looked pleased, nonetheless. She clapped her hands together and asked, "When can you finish this tunnel?"

He Shen looked smug.

"It's finished, Jin. This will be fully operational by tomorrow. All that's left is the blue soil. It's going to be super awesome, man," He Shen said as he pumped a fist into the air.

Jin turned to look at Zuko and she said excitedly, "Hear that Li? By tomorrow the Dai Li will be blown of their high emu-horses!"

Zuko felt his heart sink as he heard plenty of other Earthbenders who were working on the tunnel, boom cheers and chants. Zuko could not believe what he had just done.

All he wanted to do was to crawl into a corner and to disappear as he heard the loud chants of the Earthbenders echo through the whole tunnel, "Down with the Dai Li! Down with the Fire Nation! Hail to the Earth Kingdom! May the Earth Kingdom live forever…"

* * *

"Where were you Zuzu?" Azula asked coldly as Zuko tried to sneak past her. No such luck. As usual, he caught him even before he made it to his room. Azula was staring at him in a calm manner although her eyes betrayed a look of anger. Behind her stood Ty Lee who looked worried and Mai was fiddling with a knife.

"None of your business," Zuko snapped. Ty Lee cringed while Mai paused. Azula looked absolutely outraged.

"You suddenly disappeared without telling me. I thought you were in danger. You're my brother. Your safety_ is_ my business," Azula coolly said. She flicked one of her side-bangs away.

"I had to buy something."

"And it took you six hours to do it?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Zuko angrily told her as he spun around. He was about to storm off when Azula said, "I've heard some interesting news about you today Zuzu."

Zuko paused in mid-step. He took a deep breath before saying through gritted teeth, "What kind of news?"

"It seems as if the Ba Sing Se Bureau of Import was broken into and five Lower Ring peasants were seen. They were stealing some sort…of...soil from Gaoling," Azula said. She began to pace from side to side.

"It doesn't seem as if they stole anything too important," Zuko murmured.

Azula shrugged before continuing, "True. But that's not the interesting part I was talking about. It seems as if one of my Dai Li Agents has seen _you,_ with the four other perpetrators."

Zuko tried his best to give her a blank look but Azula was too smart for that. Her eyes were narrowed and she was examining his facial features carefully. Behind her, Ty Lee avoided his gaze while Mai was looking at the wall. Struggling to keep his voice calm Zuko said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then I'd like to hear your fascinating explanation as to how you managed to make your way into that Dai Li Agent's line of vision?" Azula said.

"Maybe he ate some really bad, rooster-pork steak," Zuko said. He held Azula's gaze defiantly.

Ty lee suddenly piped up, "Yes! That must be it Azula! I eat really bad food all the time! Makes my vision…jumpy…"

Ty lee quickly stopped talking after Azula glared at her.

Azula looked at her nails and said, "Are you sure Zuzu? He was quite positive."

Zuko gritted his teeth and said, "Then maybe you should have his head checked."

"Are you sure you weren't there?"

"I told you. I don't have any idea what you are talking about. I don't even know where the Ba Sing Se Bureau of whatever is. He must be having some illusions."

She turned to look at Zuko and said sarcastically, "Or perhaps it was your doppelganger."

Zuko started to edge away from Azula. He forced a smile before saying, "Yeah. That must be it. My doppelganger…."

"Well...I hope that it wasn't your doppelganger that visited uncle."

Zuko froze.

"So? What if I visit uncle?" Zuko defiantly demanded.

Azula smiled. She said, "Oh, nothing's wrong. I always visit uncle myself."

"You should fix the place up, Azula. Rats are everywhere," Zuko shortly said. He spun around to leave.

"Before you go Zuko, anything else you want to tell me?" Azula said as Zuko started to leave nervously.

"Um…no," Zuko said. And with that he scrambled away to his room.

"What is wrong with my brother?" Azula hissed once she was sure that Zuko had left.

"He might be the telling the truth Azula," Ty lee chirped nervously.

"No. He's not. I can see it in his face. He's hiding something from me," Azula said.

"Or he could be telling the truth and he was just being super nervous. You kind of do that to people around you. You make them sweat and pee in their own pants without really saying anything," Ty lee said.

Azula glared at her. As she opened her mouth Mai interrupted her and said dully, "Give him a break Azula. He probably just has a lot on his mind right now."

"Like what?" Azula snapped.

Ty lee said, "Like his girlfriend and how he plans on breaking the news to her that he's the—''

"What! Didn't I tell you to break them up?" Azula peevishly said.

"It's really difficult Azula. Especially since they really like each other," Ty Lee pouted.

Azula sighed loudly and said, "Ugh! Do I have to do everything around here!"

Ty Lee flinched while Mai yawned.

Azula rubbed her chin and scowled, "Still, something strange is going on. I'm going to interview that Dai Li Agent some more."

She turned to look at Ty Lee and Mai and said in a dangerously low voice, "Keep an eye on Zuko. And _properly _this time. I want to get to the bottom of this before the night ends."

* * *

The tunnel was completely by the afternoon. All that was left were the finishing touches. Zuko watched as Jin wiggled and crawled into one tunnel as she tried to jam a strange, rectangular box made out of steel into the far end of the tunnel. Plenty of other people were milling in and about as the time to set the bombs drew nearer.

Zuko stood there and he felt his skin breaking out. He had warned Ty Lee and Mai again not to go to the Dai Li's headquarters. He hoped that the two managed to pass the message unto Azula. He knew that the time to make a decision was drawing near. Azula was becoming more suspicious with him and a Dai Li Agent saw him so he knew that it probably won't be long before she would find out and take action against him. Zuko rubbed his palms together.

"Excited?" a familiar voice asked.

Zuko turned to look where the voice came from and smiled. It was Duan Jie and he looked the happiest he had ever been. He was carrying another strange metal object, similar to the one Jin was planting in the tunnel.

"Is that one of the bombs?" Zuko asked after realizing that other similar-looking objects were sprawled across each tunnel. The tunnels they made were very odd and they spread and twisted and turned in erratic directions. Zuko could clearly make out the blue soil that was slapped unto the tunnel walls.

"Indeed! We made about seventy-three of these," Duan Jie said. He gave it to Zuko who began to examined it.

"Ah! Careful! It's very fragile! It could explode at this very moment with one wrong touch," Duan Jie said.

Zuko hurriedly handed it back to him.

"I better give this back to you then. So…how does it work?" Zuko asked.

"Ahh….here's where the brilliancy comes in! We don't need powder to activate the bomb! Hai, bless him, invented this new machine. All that Ge Jiang has to do is to pull that string over there. It connects to a main panel, located at the very heart of all the interlacing tunnels. The panel activates the all the bombs which will explode in order," Duan Jie gleefully explained.

"In order? Won't it explode at the same time?"

"It won't be at the same time, spirits no! That would destroy the entire headquarters, including the rooms with the civilians in it! The only way to ensure that the rooms we don't plan on destroying will remain intact or…er….you know….not completely destroyed….is to synchronize the perfect timing!" Duan Jie explained. An earthbender came by and grabbed the bomb Duan Jie was holding saying that he had to plant it. Duan Jie nodded.

"Li!"

Zuko and Duan Jie turned to find Jin bounding up towards them, her hazel-green eyes twinkling. She flung her arms around his neck and Zuko firmly planted his hands on her waist.

"It's really happening," she said excitedly.

"I know," Zuko said. But he wasn't exactly as happy as Jin. He felt nervous. He felt ready to explode.

Jin seemed to have caught his apprehensiveness because she frowned and said, "What's wrong?"

Zuko kissed her forehead, looked at Duan Jie and said weakly, "I'm just excited."

After all the bombs have been planted, everyone quieted down as Ge Jiang stepped forward and announced in a loud voice, "People of the Resistance! Today is the day when we break free from our oppression! This is just a small step towards freedom, but it a step that we have all taken together! When I pull this string, it will be known throughout the palace that the Earth Kingdom is a strong nation that will not take this lying down!"

Cheers erupted from everywhere. Jin raised her fist in the air.

"All right…Jiang. Before you do some majorly awesome string-pulling, I want everyone to leave the premises," Shen suddenly spoke up from the crowd. He ran forward and started to motion people to move back.

Awws and Boos erupted.

"Hey, I just don't want anyone to get blown up, man. Everyone has to stay in the Main room," He Shen ordered.

Everyone sighed but relented. Jin and Zuko were on of the few who stayed behind. Zuko felt nervous. His palms were sweaty and his skin was cold. And the worst part was, he didn't know why. Jin seemed to notice his weird behavior because she slipped her small and slender hand into his. Zuko stared at her and she gave him a comforting smile.

Only a few were allowed to stay. If there were plenty it would be difficult to mobilize everyone to a safe distance once the string was pulled. They only had five minutes before the first bomb detonates and from there, there was a three-minute relapse before other bombs started exploding.

All of Jin, He Shen and Ge Jiang's closest friends were allowed to stay, including Hai, the designer of the bomb. Shu looked proud while Duan Jie restlessly moved in his place.

"Ready to make history, sis?" He Shen roared.

Jin smiled, "Definitely."

Ge Jiang pulled the string and they all quickly scrambled to the main room.

They were in the middle of the tunnel when Zuko heard the first bomb. It was extremely strong. It rocked the ground and made everyone lose their balance. Hai tripped while Jin nearly fell. Zuko managed to catch her.

"Keep moving! Don't stop!" Ge Jiang ordered.

They kept on moving until hey finally reached the main room where all the Resistance members immediately erupted into cheers as the other bombs started exploding. Someone started singing their national anthem and soon the whole place was filled with the chorus of the Earth kingdom National Anthem. Even Jin joined in the singing.

Zuko however felt as if someone had hit him across the face. He vaguely wondered if Ty Lee and Mai heeded his warning. He noticed that Jin's hand has gripped his tighter. He looked at her.

And saw the pure joy the reverberated across her face.

She was so happy that he couldn't describe it.

"It almost makes all the bad things that has ever happened to me go away," Jin sighed.

Zuko looked at her closely. He said, "What?"

"This, Li! This makes me so proud! This makes me…makes me feel….I can't even describe it!" Jin bubbled.

And looking into her eyes, he suddenly felt all the feelings of tensions and nervousness wash away. All he could think about was the happiness and the joy that was translated into her eyes.

He didn't need to think twice of what he needed to do.

Because he now knew what he really wanted.

And it was to be with her. To be right next to Jin, fighting with her, as she struggled for freedom.

* * *

Azula watched as the scarred boy sat on the chair, two Dai Li Agents firmly holding his each of his arms. After the wretched explosion that destroyed nearly all of the Dai Li's headquarters they had to make do with doing all of their interrogations at an empty room in the palace. Azula was severely annoyed with the explosion. She had lost about five hundred men today. She wasn't really concerned fo their welfare or the fact that they died. She was more concerned with the amount of people she'll have serving her when the fire Nation arrived. Ty Lee seemed to have known that an event such as this would happen although she refused to tell Azula where she got that information. She scowled. She would deal with Ty lee later.

But right now, her focus was directed solely on the boy struggling against the chair. He was young but he had a jagged scar across his face.

Azula clicked her teeth and curled her lips as the interrogation began.

She leaned forward as the boy struggled and said in sickeningly sweet voice, "I understand that you know something about the…ah…explosion that happened today, _Zei_."

* * *

_One chapter down and lots more chapters left to go._

_To Fehize: Super, duper thanks to your awesome review! I swear if I could give you cookies, I'd dump a truckload on you because you are AMAZING! It definitely made my day._

_To Alana C. Jones: I'm so glad that you liked my story enough to actually choose a suspension over waiting. I swear my heart has swelled so much that I'll probably have a heart attack. And P.S: your review was really creative._

_To Marina Hawk: Thank you so much. You are awesome. (And I think you realize how much I love that word ;))_

_To SkorpionQueen012: Thank you for the review and for reviewing and giving feedback and comments in every chapter. I don't need to say it but I'll say it anyway. You are really awesome (I bet you noticed how much I love that word too.)_

_To ArrayePL: Thanks for the always honest feedback and review. I really appreciate it. _

_To TheApocalypticTarantula: I'm so glad that someone agrees with me. Thanks for the really nice and awesome (there it is again) review! It makes me want to write more._

_Special thanks to those who have added this to their favorites and who took their time to read the story. _

_Don't leave me hanging._

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_All are accepted. I swear I won't blow a gasket._


	11. Part XI

**Burning Bright**

_Part XI_

"Jin?"

Zuko watched as Jin flinched from her place. She looked up quickly but there was something in her expression that made Zuko think that she was not as happy to see him as he was with her. Her beautiful, hazel-green eyes were rimmed with red and her knuckles were red. With a start, Zuko suddenly realized that she had been crying. Her nose looked red and her skin looked cold and clammy. Zuko wanted to go towards her, to wrap his arms around her slender frame but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt as if he had done something wrong by coming here.

As soon as the bombs set off and all the cheering and chanting had been finished, everyone started dispersing. He Shen, with a strum of his liuqin, announced that he would be treating everyone to free drinks at a nearby tavern while Ge Jiang muttered something about plans for escape routes and work and left but not before whispering something in Jin's ear. Jin frowned a little but she gave Zuko a bright smile when he looked at her. Jin and Zuko had stayed behind in the Main Room for a long time, speaking to people and congratulating each other. As Zuko talked with Hai, Jin suddenly kissed him in the cheek, excused herself and disappeared into one of the tunnels.

Zuko frowned and he questioned Hai about where Jin was going. Hai looked reluctant to tell Zuko but he finally relented. He led Zuko through the tunnel where Jin passed and into a small room with a wooden door. He left but not before warning Zuko to be careful.

"Why?" he had demanded.

"Just….just think about it before you open the door," he had said. And with that he left.

Now, seeing her despondent appearance, Zuko wished that he heeded Hai's warning and hadn't gone.

"Li!" Jin smiled. Her smile looked warm and inviting but Zuko knew her too well. She was smiling her sad smile. Zuko reluctantly stepped into the room and examined it. It was small and bare, furnished only by a small lamp that hung on one side of the wall and a small table at one corner.

Zuko looked at the table carefully and saw that it was a mini-altar. A small, silk covering was laid on top of the simple, wooden table. A pot of incense with three long, thin red candles sticking out of it was neatly placed beside a tattered looking portrait. Jin notice that he was staring at the table. She brushed her fingers against his, catching Zuko's attention.

Zuko looked at her, startled. He felt as if he was intruding on something and that he was severely unwanted. Jin seemed to realize that because she clasped his hand and gave it a small but comforting squeeze.

"Today was such a big and historic event that I felt like I just had to tell her," Jin said. She looked happy but her expression was tinged with sadness.

Zuko's mouth dropped and before he could stop himself he blurted out, "_Her?"_

Jin gestured at the small portrait and nodded at Zuko to examine it. Zuko reluctantly picked it up and once he took a better look at the portrait his stomach churned.

The person painted on the portrait was a woman who looked remarkably like Jin. She had Jin's big, wide eyes and small, finely-sculpted nose. She looked regal and noble with her perfectly, wide smile and half-lidded eyes. Her hair, which looked as unkempt and as choppy as Jin's hair, was fashioned into a half-up, with some of her hair pinned into a topknot and with the rest tumbling down her shoulders. She had the same sort of care-free and fun-loving nature as Jin although her eyes looked intelligent, slightly rebellious—stubborn even. Zuko swallowed thickly as he realized who this was.

The woman in the portrait was Jin's mother.

Zuko dropped the portrait unto the table in such a harried manner. It was as if he was holding a piece of fire-hot coal than a parchment of paper.

"She would have been so happy if she was here, Li," Jin smiled. Zuko continued to look at the picture, his gut twisting and turning as he examined it.

"She looks….looks….just like you," Zuko managed to choke.

Jin gave a little laugh. "Really? Most people say I look like my _father."_

She injected another tone into the word "father" but Zuko could not identify what it was. Shame and guilt started to wash over him.

"You have her smile," Zuko stated.

They didn't talk for the longest of time. Finally Zuko asked to lighten the mood, "Do you think that she'd like me?"

He suddenly felt foolish. He was really genuine when he asked that question. Zuko knew that Jin's mother was…_gone_…but that did not mean that he did not care what her mother's opinion was of him. He knew that Jin's mother was probably up there in the spirit world observing her daughter, passing judgment on her screw-up boyfriend. Zuko cringed at his own thoughts.

Jin laughed, "Are you kidding me? She'd love you! She would think that you are charming!"

Even to his own ears that sounded stupid. Zuko stared at her suspiciously as he said, "Me? _Charming?_ Are you patronizing me?"

"No. I'm serious. She would really like you, Li," Jin said. She began to play with the hems of his sleeve absentmindedly. She was smiling but her eyes had a sad and distant look to them. Zuko bit his lip.

"I just wished that she would get a chance to meet you," Jin sighed. Zuko gave her a comforting hug but his cheeks started feeling warm. He wondered what really happened. He wondered how Jin's mother died. As Zuko stroked her hair, he began to realize that his general knowledge of Jin's past and her life was still very vague. He really didn't know much about her. He didn't know why they were forced to move into Ba Sing Se. He didn't know about Jin's mother or father. He didn't even know where she was from before she came here. He guessed that it was mostly because she and her brothers didn't seem to want to talk about it _at all._ Whenever a discussion about their past or what their life was like before they came to Ba Sing Se came up, Jin and her brothers would divert the topic.

Zuko, however, didn't want to be the first one to bring that up. Her mother's death seemed to be a particularly touchy area.

"Well…I'd love to meet her," Zuko smiled. He broke his grasp from her, knelt down and faced the portrait.

Jin's mother stared back at him, her smile as warm and inviting as Jin's. After a closer look, he realized that Jin was right. She didn't look too much like her mother. Her mother's eyes were greener, her nose was small and petite but long and pointed and her jaw looked harder. Zuko guessed that he automatically assumed that they look exactly alike because she had the same sort of effortless and graceful beauty that Jin has. Her hair was choppy and slightly messy and she did not wear make-up. It was as if she didn't care too much about her appearance but she still managed to look effortlessly beautiful.

Sort of like Jin.

He looked at her and saw that she kneeling next to him. Her eyes were glassy and she was smiling but her fists were balled. She was trying not to cry, Zuko realized. He wondered if he should comfort her or just ignore it.

He decided to ignore it. He had learned that if people are trying to hide their tears, then it would be more polite to pretend that you did not notice them. And Jin was definitely trying to hide that she was upset.

"How about your mom? Do you think that she would like me?" Jin asked. Her voice was light and calm but it sounded slightly shaky.

"Yeah, she'd love you. She'd think that you're charming too," Zuko impishly said.

"Me? Charming? Are you patronizing me?" she asked in a mock annoyed tone.

"No. I'm deadly serious," Zuko chuckled.

"What was she like?" Jin asked.

"Who?"

"Your mom."

"She was very sweet and kind and loving."

"She sounds like a really great mom."

"She was," Zuko sadly said. After awhile he ventured, "How about her? What was she like?"

"Who?"

Zuko gestured at the portrait.

Jin smiled.

"She was the best," was all she said. Zuko didn't ask her anymore questions or push the topic further.

They then began to pay reverence to her mother. He wasn't so sure how Earth kingdom people do it so Jin told him that he could just pay reverence the way most people from the Fire Nation would usually do.

In between low bows he muttered under his breath, "Please…if you're out there…um…Jin's mom...I swear I mean no harm. I'm really sorry if I ever did anything to hurt her….actually I was about to do something that was going to hurt her….but….it's all over now. I'm going to fix it. So if you could like….um…hear me…do you think you could help me work things out?"

Jin stared at him, slightly perplexed as he continued to talk to Jin's mom. Zuko smiled at her sheepishly before turning his attention back to the portrait.

"So um….yeah…I haven't completely figured things out with Jin yet. Mostly because I'm new to this kind of thing. But I hope you um…approve of me. Because it would really stink if you don't. I know Jin takes your opinion seriously or something…I'm a great guy, really. Sort of…" Zuko felt stupid as he continued to mumble and whisper. Jin probably thought that he was weirdo but he couldn't help it. It was one of those weird little quirks he had. He liked to talk to himself or inanimate objects. It helped released the tension.

Jin looked at him with a confused look but she didn't press him with questions or ridiculous comments. Instead, they continued with the ancestor worship. After about five minutes of ancestor worship, Jin announced that she wanted to leave and Zuko quickly followed her noticing that she didn't seem too eager to stay in this place very long.

"Hey, do you think you could have a place for one more at the barracks?" Zuko asked as they exited the room. Jin looked a little shaken and she didn't seem ready to talk yet but Zuko really needed to get this sorted out before he left.

He already had a plan. He would go back to the palace, try and avoid Azula as much as he can before scrambling to his room to pack his bags up and leave without ever going back. He knew his decision. He was going to be part of the Resistance.

"Hm? Yeah, sure. We have lots of room in the barracks," Jin said. She still looked as if she was deep in thought.

Zuko smiled, satisfied. He said, "Well, that's great. I can move in here by tomorrow."

"What!"

"I'm moving in here."

"But…but why? Don't you have an apartment in the Upper Ring? What about the teashop? What about your uncle?"

Zuko stepped back, slightly startled at the memory of his uncle. He felt a bit guilty. He had completely forgotten about the old man. He sighed in relief after remembering that his uncle's prison cell was in the palace and not in the Dai Li's Headquarters. He would just have to break his uncle out and take him with him.

Zuko pouted and drew her closer with his hands, teasingly saying, "Why? You don't want me to come here?"

"No…" Jin giggled as she kissed his nose.

"I'm just worried about you. You wouldn't be coming here if something wasn't wrong," Jin frowned.

Zuko smiled at her assuringly and said, "I'm fine. It's just that um…well…um…"

Zuko racked his brain for a decent excuse.

"…um….after our mission with the blue soil….well….things got haywire and well…I think a Dai Li Agent saw me and got suspicious so…I want to lay low for awhile," Zuko mumbled. At least it was partially truthful.

Jin stared at him. It looked as if she didn't completely believe him. After many agonizing minutes of silence Jin sighed and shrugged, "I guess you could stay in the barracks. Just try to keep out of Ge Jiang's way. You're still on his death list."

Zuko smiled and they moved forward, towards the Main Room.

"I'll try," he chuckled.

"And you're going to have to sleep as far away from where I'm sleeping as possible. Ge Jiang already has enough suspicions about what we're _doing _whenever I come home late," Jin meaningfully said.

Zuko blushed hard after realizing what Jin was talking about.

"I would never—um—you know…..I wouldn't….that's stupid of him to think like that—I wouldn't defile your honor—''

Jin laughed loudly before grabbing Zuko's hand and pulling him into the room, saying, "Come on, most honorable one. I want you to protect my _honor_ by walking me home."

Zuko gave her a crooked smile before linking his arms with hers.

* * *

Zuko noticed many weird things as he entered the palace.

For one thing, the Dai Li Agents didn't seem too shaken up by the explosion. As he walked through the hallways, no one looked sad or no one was panicking or moaning in despair. Everyone went about their usual business as if nothing happened. Zuko was so perplexed by their reaction that he just had to see how Azula felt about the whole explosion matter. Although he didn't plan to go there, he hurried to the throne room where he saw Azula sitting idly.

Another strange thing was that Mai and Ty Lee weren't dutifully sitting beside or in front of her. They were nowhere to be seen.

"Um…"

"Why, hello Zuzu. I'm so glad you could join me," Azula said as she flicked a lock of hair away. Zuko immediately started regretting his decision in coming here.

"Azula….I heard that an explosion happened in Lake Laogai," Zuko cautiously said.

"You are correct. An explosion did happen. Well, actually _explosions_ happened. But not to worry. I have everything under control," Azula said.

"What! But didn't….didn't their headquarters get destroyed?" Zuko frowned.

"Not all of it is completely gone. Some more…er…._strategic_ parts were strangely still usable," Azula said.

"What do you mean by…strategic parts?"

"Oh…whoever blew the whole place up decided to keep the prison rooms and a few other places intact. It's all quite bothersome really. If they were going to blow the whole place up why didn't they just do a proper job and blow everything to the sky? People here in the Earth Kingdom are quite ridiculous," Azula said.

Zuko suddenly felt uneasy for some reason. He shuffled his feet, looked away from his sister and muttered, "Were there any…casualties?"

"Oh…about five hundred."

"_Five hundred?_ And you aren't mad or concern in the least bit?" Zuko demanded. Azula should be completely annoyed now. She had just lost five hundred men.

"They're indispensable. Hardly worth the trouble," Azula said dismissively. She looked and sounded bored with the conversation.

"But…but you need them! You need Dai Li Agents to Earthbend the wall open," Zuko argued.

"Please, Zuko. That's hardly a problem. If I need Earthbenders, all I need to do is to look in the registered Earthbender list and forcibly take them away from their homes to do my bidding. Honestly, Zuzu, you can be so _stupid _sometimes," Azula sighed as she rolled her eyes.

Zuko frowned. Something was wrong. Things aren't supposed to be turning out this way. She should be mad, furious even. Zuko stared at her suspiciously, trying to see her angle.

"Do you have any idea who did it?" Zuko asked. He began to back away. He suspected that Azula knew or had a vague idea of who was behind the explosions. That meant that he needed to leave this place quickly.

"Oh…I have a few ideas but they're just theories," Azula said.

She was smiling at him now but it wasn't the re-assuring kind of smile. It was as if she was mocking him. Her eyes glinted and her lips were curled in disdain. It was as if she knew something that he didn't. Zuko balled his fists and his brow began to sweat profusely. Azula was planning something. He was sure of it. She wasn't going to proceed about this calmly. He was surprised that she wasn't lashing out in rage at anyone by now.

"Like what?" Zuko asked. He stopped in his tracks.

"They're not very plausible. I wouldn't want to bore you with them," Azula said in a bored tone.

"What do you plan to do when you find out?"

"I'm still thinking about it," Azula smirked.

Zuko rubbed his hands together and looked around. His heart stopped once he realized that Dai Li Agents were everywhere. They blended in, looked unnoticeable because they were hiding in nooks and crannies and dark corners. Zuko was suddenly afraid that they would pounce on him.

"I have to go somewhere," Zuko said as he made a turn to leave.

"Go where? To your girlfriend?"

Zuko paused. His heart pounded against his chest.

"Um…"

"Don't act so surprised Zuzu. _I know._ Keeping a secret like that is really difficult, especially if you've trusted it to someone like Ty Lee," Azula said.

"It's not a secret," Zuko shortly said.

"I've heard that she's incredibly poor. Funny. I didn't peg you as someone who'd like peasants."

"Shut up, Azula! Don't talk about her in that way—''

"I've also heard that Ty Lee has met her. She seems to be someone very pretty. A little too pretty for _you_ in my opinion. I can't believe someone would be desperate enough to go out with you."

"It's no big deal if you've found out about her. I don't care," Zuko spat. He hoped he sounded brave because his insides were shaking.

"Well…if it isn't some big secret then I guess it would be no problem that I meet her? It's not fair that Ty lee saw her before I did. I am your_ sister,_" Azula said. She looked downright malicious.

"Well—'' Zuko faltered and lost any coherent train of thought. Azula's presence was affecting him more than he'd like to let on. He hated that about her. He hated the way she seemed to pick up emotions and insecurities so well. He hated that she knew how to intensify all his anxiety. He shouldn't let her do this to him.

He looked at her, met her eyes and glared.

"It wouldn't be a good idea. She wouldn't like you," Zuko sneered.

Azula scowled, losing her cool for the first time. She angrily clutched the throne's arms. All around her the Dai Li steered. One attempted to move forward. Azula glared at him and made a stop signal.

"Oh really Zuzu? I'm not so sure about that. I think you'll find that I'm a very…ah…_people person_," she said. Her smile looked crueler and crueler as Zuko looked at her.

"She'd think that you're a big jerk," Zuko snapped. He then turned away from her and muttered, "I have to go somewhere."

"Say what you want, Zuko. I couldn't care less!" Azula said coolly as Zuko began to leave the throne room in a harried manner.

Azula smiled and said as Zuko left the room completely, "I have a feeling that me and your stupid, peasant girlfriend will be meeting a lot sooner than you think."

* * *

Zuko ran towards his room, completely ignoring anyone that passed his way. He slammed his door opened, grabbed the nearest bag he could find before grabbing as many clothe as he could and stuffing it into the bag. He was surprised that Azula didn't ask the Dai Li or Mai and Ty Lee to capture him and put him into prison. This just wasn't her style. For some reason, that made Zuko all the more nervous.

He needed to get out of here, break his uncle out and get to the Resistance's Headquarters as fast as he could. He wasn't sure if the reason why Azula didn't kill him yet was because of her good mood or it was because she had a hidden agenda. All he knew was that something was severely wrong and he did not want to stick around to find out what she has planned for him.

Zuko scowled in frustration as a shirt oozed out from the opening. He tried to squeeze it in.

He could feel his tension rising. He looked around, completely paranoid, that the Dai Li might come bursting into his room with their stupid stone cuffs and gloves. In anger he threw the shirt away and decided to leave it. He examined all the contents of the bag and saw that he had packed three shirts, a pair of pants and some socks. It was still pretty small since he planned to live in the headquarters for the rest of his days but he decided not to give it too much contemplation. He'd get another pair of pants, two more shirts, some underwear of course, a few food and weapons and maybe a nice coat before leaving.

"In a hurry?" a dull, monotone voice said.

Zuko jerked his head up and spun around. Mai stood at the doorway, her eyes blank and expressionless as usual but her body was tense. She leaned against the doorframe and began to play with one of her knives.

Zuko sighed, exasperated before saying, "I have to go—''

"—somewhere," Mai finished for him. Zuko stared at her blankly, not sure what he was supposed to tell her or what his reaction was supposed to be.

Mai shrugged before continuing, "It's the same, old, _boring_ statement. Trust me; I'm used to it by now."

Zuko frowned at her, trying to think up of a suitable response. All he could manage was, "Leave me alone. I need to finish this."

Mai didn't look the least bit offended. She continued to stare at him with her dull eyes.

It was funny how Mai and Jin were alike in some ways. Like Jin, Mai took his temperamental outburst and awkward comments in stride. Like Jin, Mai clouded most of her emotions from everyone else. Like Jin, nothing ever seems to faze Mai. The only difference was that Jin takes everything—the good, the bad—with a smile while Mai takes everything with a bored expression.

Zuko shuddered. The comparison freaked him out a little bit.

"It won't matter if you hurry up Zuko. Time doesn't matter in your situation," Mai sighed. She didn't move from her position.

"Shouldn't you be in Azula's side right now, doing whatever she tells you?" Zuko said in annoyance. He just wished that she would go.

Mai glared at him but she didn't stir or move. She continued in her flat voice, "She wants to be alone right now. Especially after she had the talk with Ty Lee."

Suddenly, Zuko remembered Ty Lee. He had not once seen the bright and overly-cheerful girl. That was definitely wrong since Ty Lee was everywhere spouting bubbly comments and airheaded phrases. Zuko frowned.

"Ty Lee? Wait—where is she? I haven't seen her today," he demanded.

Mai sighed again before saying, "I can't get all the details out too straight. The fact that she's bawling her eyes out makes it a little hard to understand what she's saying—''

"What? She's crying? What happened to her?" Zuko worriedly said. Ty Lee cried a lot, mostly because she was sensitive and overly-emotional but from Mai's account, things sounded serious.

"All I could make out was that she and Azula had a little _talk. _That itself is pretty much self-explanatory," Mai drawled.

"A talk? What did Ty Lee do wrong?" Zuko asked. He started feeling worried for his friend. He hoped that he had nothing to do with it. Azula's rage when someone screws up is unimaginable. And she doesn't care who she directs it to—as long as you made a mistake she'll chew you out even if you're her best friend.

"Too complicated to explain, too boring to divulge. I'd rather not," Mai yawned.

"Is it that bad?"

"She's eating chocolates in her room with the door locked."

"Yup. It's definitely _that_ bad," Zuko said remembering Ty lee's hatred of chocolate and all its fattening capabilities.

"She'll get over it. She always does," Mai said. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence with Zuko packing some weapons and with Mai playing with her knives.

Finally, Mai broke the silence by silently walking towards Zuko who was trying to desperately stuff another shirt into his bag. She sighed loudly. To Zuko's surprise she grabbed his shirt and began to fold and roll it.

"You're doing it wrong. You have to roll it up so it leaves more space in your bag," Mai monotonously said as she jammed the shirt into his bag. She then gestured for Zuko to do the same. Zuko, absolutely perplexed, began to fold and roll his clothes in the way Mai showed him. Mai stood in front of him, not moving, not speaking. For some, reason that made him nervous. She then picked up a knife that Zuko was planning to pack.

"And your weapons have to be wrapped thickly. Otherwise they'll slice through your clothes," Mai continued as she wrapped a long knife into a thick, wool cloth.

"Thanks Mai," Zuko awkwardly once everything was packed.

He then remembered that in her own quiet way, Mai had been the nicest person who was friends with Azula. She stood up for him and Ty Lee and she never embarrassed or mocked him. He suddenly felt very grateful towards her.

"I…um….I want to say thanks—''

"Save it. I hate it when things get corny."

"That's not all. I want to say goodbye—''

"Didn't I just say that I hate it when things get corny?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye!"

"That was completely unnecessary. We already know that you're leaving," Mai said. She blew on her nails.

"We?" Zuko asked suspiciously. He wondered if Azula knew too.

"Ty Lee told me to give you this. She'd give to you herself but she's too sad to do anything right now. She's scared her tears might make it salty," Mai said. She pulled out a small, round earth cake from her sleeve.

Zuko took it.

"Tell her thanks."

"It's not for you so you better not eat it. It's for Jin," Mai said. Zuko stared at her, trying to see if she had a hidden agenda. He was suddenly afraid that the cake might explode by Azula's hand.

"Oh. She's going to love it," he reluctantly said. He suddenly felt touched by Ty lee's earth cake and Mai's help.

He blurted out before he could stop himself, "Look! I can't tell you the full details but you and Ty Lee could come with me—''

"No, thanks. I hate travelling on foot and I'm supposed to bring some tea for Ty Lee," Mai said.

"Look! This is a chance for you to escape from Azula!" Zuko argued. Mai's eyes sparked with emotion for the first time. It was fear.

"You don't have to worry about the Dai Li. You could go out the front door when you leave. It's deserted," was all she said. Mai then turned around and began to leave.

"Mai…wait!"

She paused.

"What's going on? Azula knows, doesn't she?" Zuko said.

Mia sighed deeply before turning around to face Zuko again. Her face was an expressionless mask.

Zuko shouldered his bag, ready to leave.

Mai looked at him with concern before saying, "I'm sorry, Zuko. I'm really, _really _sorry."

* * *

Zuko raced along the palace's prisonhold, the bag's weight pressing against his shoulder. He didn't have too much time. He had to get his uncle out of here without raising too much suspicion. That task was extremely difficult since Dai Li Agents were posted everywhere. But at this point, he had thrown caution out of the window. All he cared about was reaching the Lower Ring with his uncle by the end of the day.

Zuko frowned once he saw that no Dai Li Agents were posted. This was certainly strange. While the prison room was strong, Azula did not trust it to support the Dragon of the West. That was precisely why she always kept at least four Dai Li Agents near his room.

Zuko hurried to the door and peered over the small, barred rectangle.

His heart nearly dropped.

His uncle wasn't there.

He was staring at a dark, empty room. Zuko gripped the bars in panic. What was going on? Where was his uncle? Suddenly, the hope that he had escaped on his own flickered in his mind but that seemed impossible. The prisonroom didn't look damaged or didn't look as if someone had escape from it. It looked untouched.

Zuko wrung his hands in frustration. He spun around and caught a Dai Li Agent giving some food to one of the prisoners. Swiftly, he grabbed the man by his collar and thrust him into the wall, knocking the tray of food unto the ground. The Dai Li Agent cowered and whimpered in fear.

"Anything wrong your highness?" he asked in between his whimpers.

"Where is he?" Zuko demanded.

"Who?"

"You know who! _Where's my uncle!"_ Zuko demanded, his voice rising octaves higher with every word.

"Your uncle? Who's that? Would that happen to be the man in that cell?" the Dai Li Agent nervously said.

"_Stop playing games! Where is he!" _Zuko yelled. The fire in the lamps exploded, breaking its glass case and casting a deathly, orange glow across the walls.

"He's in a ship on the way to the Fire Nation!" the Dai Li Agent yelped. Zuko dropped the Dai Li Agent, his mind whirring a mile a minute. What was that man talking about?

"What?" he asked not quite believing it.

"It happened last night, while you were….er….while you were _away _your highness. The princess ordered it. He was to be transported to the Fire Nation," the Dai Li Agent explained. He started to edge away from Zuko.

"The princess….fire nation…..uncle…._Azula_!" Zuko scowled. She knew more than she let on. Zuko scowled in frustration. What was he supposed to do now? He was supposed to liberate his uncle! Now, his uncle was on a ship, in the most disgusting section no less, with the thought that Zuko had a hand in this. He'd probably hate Zuko even more.

"She said that he could not be held here, especially after the explosion. It wasn't safe," the Dai Li Agent muttered as he tried to leave.

"As if Azula would care," Zuko snapped as the Dai Li Agent left.

Things were already falling apart. But he had no choice but to forge on forward. He wasn't sure what Azula has up in her sleeve but he knew that she had other reasons for sending his uncle away. He didn't want to stick around to find out what her full plan was.

He had no choice but to leave his uncle behind.

With a heavy heart, Zuko ran from the prisonhold and into the courtyard.

* * *

It was sundown by the time he reached the Lower Ring.

He expected to arrive later. It was really strange though that Mai was right. No Dai Li Agents were patrolling the front gate or the courtyard. In fact, it was as if no one was guarding the palace. Zuko suddenly felt suspicious. He escaped from the palace a lot more quickly than he expected. It was as if they were just letting him go. For him, that was not a good sign.

Zuko raced across the passageway, to the main entrance avoiding flying spikes and three foot tall cylinders swinging at him. He didn't know why he felt so jittery. He felt something at the pit of his stomach and something was nagging him at the back of his brain. He wasn't sure what's going on with him. Mai's cryptic and completely unhelpful warning and the news of his uncle being in a ship on its way to the fire nation had shaken him more than he expected.

After finally managing to narrowly escape all the booby traps Zuko ran to the door and knocked on it. A dull and sleepy voice said, "Knowledge talk..."

"But wisdom listens," Zuko answered. The door swung open to reveal Nuo, leaning against a wall next to the door. He looked tired and worn-out and groggy.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked. He was in a hurry to see Jin but he felt the need to be polite to Nuo.

"Long day. We've been busy," he yawned as he gestured around the room.

Zuko's eyes popped open once he took a closer look at the room. It was filled with people. At first, Zuko thought that they were Resistance Members but after a closer examination he noted that most of them were civilians; mothers and fathers herding their children or old people sitting on chairs.

"Who are all these people? Are they new members?" Zuko asked.

"What! Oh no! They're civilians actually. We've started leading them outside the wall," Nuo explained.

"You mean you've started it? You've started the evacuation?" Zuko asked. He was impressed. Imagine, they just blew up the Dai Li headquarters in one night and soon they were leading civilians out from Ba Sing Se the next night.

"Jiang wanted it done soon. He's afraid that the Dai Li and the fire Nation might make reparations. You wouldn't believe how much work we have to put into convincing the civilians about the Fire Nation. And the process of leading them all down here…..unbelievable! By the time the sun went down we've only managed to escort one group out," Nuo breathed tiredly.

"Escort?"

"Yeah. We can't lead them all at once so we had to divide them into groups. Shu with his wife Fan and a few other Resistance members lead the first group," Nuo said.

"Was Jin with them?" Zuko asked a little worriedly.

"No. She's going to lead the eighth group. And also…..she wanted to wait for _you_," Nuo smirked teasingly as he said the last part. Zuko chuckled before merging into the crowd to find Jin. It took him a while to find her. Finally, he saw her at a corner talking to a very snobbish looking woman. Duan Jie was next to her and he was holding a little girl in each hand.

"For the last time Madame Ying, you're going to have to wait. You still belong in group four," Jin sighed in exasperation as Zuko approached her. She was wearing her battle gear, an outfit that looked similar to the Dai Li's except it was sleeveless and showed off her midriff, exposing her tone and flat stomach. She was wearing black arm and leg guards and her hair was tied into two braids. She was wearing a brown straw hat.

Madame Ying, the baker who lived down at the west end of the Lower Ring, huffed before stomping off into the opposite direction.

"Jin?" Zuko called as soon he got Jin's full attention.

"Li!" Jin happily cried. Her eyes lit up and she gave him a big hug. Zuko smiled in content.

"Busy?" Zuko asked.

"Very. Ge Jiang's not taking any chances. He wants this evacuation to start," Jin sighed. She looked tired and worn-out. And Zuko does not blame her. He suddenly remembered that he had no sleep for the past few nights. He started feeling the effects of his all-nighters.

"Li!" Duan Jie called him. Zuko looked at him and offered a wide smile. The girls that clung onto his hands looked shy. One was about eight years old and the other looked about ten.

"Hey," Zuko said. He lowered himself down so that he'd be able to reach the eye level of the two girls.

"I'd like you to meet my little ones. They're set to leave in a few more minutes," Duan Jie proudly announced.

"Hi. My name's Li," Zuko said. He held both his hands out so that the two may shake them. The two girls reluctantly took his hands and shook it.

"Hi. My name is Lili," the one who looked like eight-years old said.

"And I'm Aya," the other added.

"Nice to meet you," Zuko said.

"Where did you get the scar?" Lili asked.

Zuko stiffened and his mouth stood agape for many seconds. Duan Jie, mightily embarrassed, hushed his daughters up and herded them into a direction saying, "It's rude to ask questions. Come along now. Let's join our group…"

Zuko felt embarrassed and his hand involuntarily touched his scar. He suddenly hated himself. Suddenly, he felt a soft, slender hand cover his own. He turned to his side and found Jin smiling at him comfortingly.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost," Jin smiled. She didn't mention the whole scar incident and Zuko was entirely grateful for that. He was glad that his girlfriend wasn't one of those nosy, busybody and prying types.

"More like my sister," Zuko muttered.

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad your okay," Zuko quickly said. He leaned towards her and gave her quick kiss on the forehead. Jin frowned.

"Of course I'd be okay. Is something wrong?" Jin asked.

"Nothing. But in times like these….you can't be sure," Zuko sputtered.

"Well….I can't lead you to your room just yet. We still need to organize this evacuation," Jin said. She looked tired and weary.

"Why now? You just finished undermining the Dai Li," Zuko breathed.

"Ge Jiang wants it done. Something about risks or revenge or something…." Jin yawned.

"You should sleep," Zuko said.

"As if you've been sleeping," Jin snickered.

"Your brother is a jerk. He should've given you more time to rest," Zuko mumbled.

"No. Jiang's right. Who knows? The Dai Li might be on a rampage right now, taking their anger out on innocent people," Jin said.

"Anyway, Ty Lee gave you this," Zuko said. He took the Earth Cake out and gave it to Jin. The cake looked a little squished but other than that it seemed fine.

"That's so sweet of her. Any special occasion?" Jin asked slyly.

"Not that I know of," Zuko smirked. After a while he sobered and said more seriously, "She's going….away."

"What?"

"She's a circus performer Jin. She can't be tied….down…" Zuko said as he tried to make it sound as believable as possible. Jin looked sad.

"She sounds like…He Shen. Can't be tied down. Maybe you should hook them up," Jin sniggered.

"They'd make one interesting couple," Zuko chuckled.

"People say we make an interesting couple," Jin laughed. She then added, "I hope not all circus performers can't be tied down…"

She wrapped her arms around his neck as Zuko smirked, "Not this circus performer…."

"I'm glad you came. I'm having a little trouble with the fire blossom," Jin smiled.

"What's the problem?"

"It's dying. I don't think that it takes too well in this climate," Jin frowned.

Zuko opened his mouth to speak but before he could, He Shen suddenly came up from behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck, wrapped the other arm around Jin before pulling them closer to his chest.

He looked tired and frazzled. His usually messy hair was even messier than usual. It looked like a rat's nest. His face was smudge with dirt and dust and his armor looked frayed and worn. The liuqin was still slung on his back and he still had a bright, carefree smile but his eyes looked tired and heavy.

"Why, hello Li man! Sis! Heard you're moving in with us, Li. Know what that means? Means it deserves an awesome song, man!" He Shen said. He broke out into another song. Zuko and Jin waited patiently for him to finish. When he was finally done he said, "Major happenings today, man. I feel worn down and ready to pass out cause I've been dancing and partying the whole night but I'm not gonna do that dude, cause Jiang will like rip my head off and I've got people to lead and…."

He Shen lapsed into a silence. He gave a big yawn and looked off into the distance.

"Um….Shen?" Zuko said. He poked He Shen in the arm.

"Shen…" Jin said as she gently shook him.

Suddenly a gong sounded. That snapped He Shen back into focus. He yawned and said, "That's my cue Li man. Gotta go lead the second group. Take care sis. Meet you at the outside…."

As He Shen stalked off Jin said, "About the fire blossom…"

Zuko smiled and said confidently, "Don't worry. It just needs more heat."

He grabbed her hand and radiated a moderate amount of heat so his touch sent warm tingles into her arm. Jin's eyes widened in amusement. Zuko said as he drew her closer, "All you need is a firebender's touch…"

Suddenly, there was a big quake on the ground. Everyone gasped or screamed in horror as the rumbling continued. Zuko lost his balance and fell face flat on the floor. Jin hurriedly helped him while trying to calm the panicked civilians and Resistance members down. It was a difficult task since everyone was getting more and more riled up and even the Resistance members started panicking.

"What's going on? An earthquake?" Zuko asked over the din of the noise.

"No…it's something much worse…." Jin whispered fearfully.

The wall in front of them exploded, flinging rocks in eveyr direction.

"Look out!" Zuko yelled as big chunk flew towards Jin. Jin slammed her fist at the flying projectile and it crumbled into little tiny pieces. Dust and dirt flew everywhere and the screams of all the hysterical civilians only made things more confusing.

Zuko rubbed his eyes to get a closer look at the figures emerging from the dust. As the dust cleared away the entire room erupted into screams. Zuko's mouth dropped. It was the—

"Dai Li!" Jin said. She suddenly formed a solid stance before earthbending a wall and directing it into the Dai Li. A few got slammed backwards while some managed to dodge it. Stone gloves suddenly flew towards Jin. Zuko flicked one away with his arm while Jin lithely dodged them all Earthbending more rocks and shooting them at the Dai Li.

Zuko didn't stir for the longest of time. This was it. This was Azula's plan. She was going to take the Resistance down. He didn't move or speaking from his shock but he was vaguely aware of what was going on around him. The Dai Li Agents started capturing civilians and rounding them up. Resistance members started fighting. The second group set for evacuation was halted.

From the corner of his eye he could see Ge Jiang taking on eight Earthbenders at a time. He was fully clothed with his armor and a heavy helmet rested atop his head. He kept his calm and cool demeanor although his eyes were steeled with anger.

From the left he could see He Shen flinging one Dai Li Agent with his bare hands. His hands were cuffed together with the stone gloves but he still looked formidable since he whenever he stomped on the ground with his legs small tremors would rock the main room. Hai and Nuo were trying to desperately keep up in the fight but they were losing badly. Hai had a cut on his head and Nuo had agiant size welt on his cheek.

Suddenly, he remembered Jin.

He looked around and sprinted trying desperately to find her. All around him people were screaming. Women and men were being cuffed and injured. Children were wailing as the Dai Li rounded them up. Where was she? He hoped that nothing too serious happened to her.

A Dai Li Agent suddenly started barreling towards him. Zuko growled and in one swift move he managed to slip his bag from his shoulders and he threw it at the Dai Li Agent's face. The Dai Li Agent staggered giving him enough time to draw his sword s out. Once the Dai Li Agent got back up, he sent two stone gloves flying towards Zuko. Zuko dodged one, deflected the other with a sword before crouching on the floor to avoid an earth spike sent by the Dai Li Agent. He slid across the ground, hit the Dai Li Agent's shin with the hilt of his sword. The Dai Li Agent gave a cry before losing his balance and crumpling unto the floor.

Zuko scrambled back up and continued to run, desperate to find Jin. His brain was processing so many things at the same time that he just didn't have much focus as he sped across the room. As he pushed a child out of harm's way he thought about how they managed to find the Resistance's secret headquarters. Was there a traitor amongst their midst? He was very sure he didn't tell Azula. As he gave a low kick to an attacking Dai Li Agent he thought about what Jin might be thinking. Was she afraid? Angry? Panicked? As he pinned another Dai Li Agent into the wall he thought about Jin's reaction and how Ge Jiang might automatically blame him once this whole thing was over. He thought about how he was goign to keep his cover.

He continued to fight but his movements were so robotic since he didn't think of anything else but Jin. And how he hoped that she was safe. And he hoped that she wasn't mad at him.

Suddenly, as he knocked a Dai Li Agent away, he saw her. He saw Jin.

There were about ten Dai Li Agents surrounding her, all of them earthbending earth spikes, rocks, and stone gloves at her. Jin easily dodged some, deflected a few others against the Dai Li Agents. As Zuko looked on, he realized that she could handle things fine.

Jin crouched on the ground with a low kick and sent three Dai Li Agents flying. She then grabbed one Dai Li Agent's sleeve and threw him across the floor. Two came at her but she earthbent miniature columns at their feet causing them to lose their balance. Things were going fine until….one Dai Li Agent came at her from her side, earthbent the stone gloves towards her and cuffed her hands, knocking her unto the ground.

"NO!" Zuko yelled. He tried to run towards her, to help her when a jet of blue fire blocked his path.

Zuko's heart sank. He only knew one person who could bend blue fire.

He looked at the direction from where it came from and his jaw clenched.

It was Azula, donned in her full Fire Nation outfit. She looked cruel and malicious as she calmly strode forwards.

She smiled mockingly before saying, "Am I late for the party?"

* * *

"Azula!" Zuko hissed angrily. He formed his swords into an x.

From her place Jin's eyes widened. She said, "Azula? Wait—you know her?"

Azula's eyes inched in Jin's direction. Her smile became wider. She said, "Oh. So this is your girlfriend Zuko. Ty Lee was right. She is pretty. A little too pretty for you, maybe."

From behind her Mai and Ty Lee emerged. Ty Lee looked ashamed and visibly upset. She gave him an apologetic glance and mouthed "I'm sorry" while Mai simply stared at him with her usual bored face. Her eyes however looked remorseful. Zuko knew that they weren't as evil as his sister at heart but still, their presence made him angry. He glared back at them angrily. Ty lee shrank in her place.

"You know each other? Wait—what did she just call you? Who's Zuko? _What's going on, Li!"_ Jin cried. She looked hysterical.

All around them, the fighting had stilled. Ge Jiang was staring at the scene with angry eyes while He Shen looked afraid. Hai, Nuo, Long and Guai stared at all of them curiously. Even though the fight had stopped, everyone was still tensed and in their stances. Around him, he could hear children wailing and crying.

Zuko felt as if he was underneath a spotlight. He suddenly understood Azula's plan. Why Mai told him that it didn't matter if he got to the Lower Ring in time. Why Azula let him go so easily. Why there weren't many Dai Li Agents patrolling the palace.

She was using him to lead her into the Resistance. He had led her hear. He was the one that caused all this.

"Oh, so you didn't tell her? Very wise decision, Zuzu. It would've ruined the whole plan," Azula continued.

"What plan? What's going on Li? Why is she calling you Zuko!" Jin cried. Her voice sounded strangled. Zuko couldn't face her. He shut his eyes and tried to focus so he would be able to outtalk Azula. To avoid the discomfort, he sheathed his swords back into place.

"You didn't know? Zuko is here undercover for the _Fire Nation. _He's the one who orchestrated all of this. He came up with the plan. He was the one who led us here," Azula smiled. Jin gasped. Azula then turned to Zuko and added, "Thank you so much, Zuko."

Zuko groaned. He knew what Azula was up to. She was trying to make everyone in the Resistance think that he was a traitor. A strange silence enveloped the place.

"I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust him!" Ge Jiang said breaking the silence. He looked extremely angry. His face was a violent shade of purple.

"What? Li, a traitor? But that can't be!" he heard Duan Jie say. Zuko turned and saw DuanJie. He looked at Hai, Nuo, He Shen and everyone at the Resistance. They all had the same look—a look of pure disbelief. Their eyes were pleading. It as if they were begging for Zuko to say that it wasn't true.

"She's lying! She's only trying to turn us against each other! Li! Please tell me that she's lying," Jin cried. Zuko looked at her and his chest constricted. Her eyes started getting red. She was about to cry.

Zuko looked at her pleadingly and said, "Jin, I swear I had nothing to do with this—''

"Forget it Jin! It's over! He's with them! Don't you realize who she is! _Who he is!" _Ge Jiang roared.

"No! Li would never—''

"His name is not Li!_ HE'S NAME IS NOT LI!"_ Ge Jiang yelled. Zuko could feel his head swimming. He balled his fists up. From behind Azula, Ty Lee looked upset.

"His name is Zuko! Doesn't that name ring a bell Jin? Doesn't it? Haven't I heard his name before in our History Books? Shouldn't you have realized who he is by now?" Ge Jiang snapped. He was stomping towards them. Zuko looked at He Shen and saw that he had frozen in place.

'Zuko…" Jin whispered to herself.

"Yes, Zuko! Tell me Jin! Tell me who he is!" Ge Jiang growled.

Jin closed her eyes and said in a barely audible whisper, "Zuko. He's the prince of the fire nation."

"I can't hear you!" Ge Jiang snapped.

In a louder voice Jin announced, "Zuko. He's the prince of the fire Nation."

And the world came crashing down after that. Zuko watched as everyone's face morphed into horror. He Shen shook his head and clicked his teeth. Ge Jiang looked ready to smash Zuko's brain into the ground.

"Oh, so he forgot to mention that too? I hope that finding out that your boyfriend, my brother by the way, is the prince of the fire Nation won't cause any problems in your relationship," Azula said. She looked like she was enjoying herself.

"I hope this won't cause you any problems!" Jin snapped and suddenly, thrust her hands at Azula's direction and the stone gloves detached itself from her hands and sailed towards Azula. Azula growled and dodged it before sending a streak of lighting towards Jin.

"Jin!" Zuko cried but Jin easily dodged it.

The fighting commenced. Zuko felt a wall of earth crash into his side. Zuko flew backwards and slammed into a chunk of rock. Once his vision cleared he saw that it was Ge Jiang, slowly advancing towards him. Ge Jiang looked beyond angry.

"Jiang, I swear this was all Azula's idea! I didn't know anything about—''

"You lied to all of us! You lied to my sister! You lied to her and you broke her heart!" Ge Jiang accused.

"I never wanted—''

Ge Jiang earthbent a column of rock to pummel him into the right.

"You've hurt her! And since you've hurt her I'll be keeping my promise of killing you!" Ge Jiang roared. He carried a giant boulder and threw it at Zuko. Zuko rolled over as the boulder slammed unto the ground.

"Jin means the world to me! Jiang please! Stop! I don't want to hurt you," Zuko said as he scrambled back up.

Ge Jiang wasn't listening. He sent Earth Spikes in Zuko's direction. Zuko dodged each and everyone fo them as Ge Jiang continued, "Liar!You probably never liked her! You were just using her to get to the Resistance!"

That hit Zuko's nerve. Ge Jiang's implication that Zuko never liked Jin angered him greatly. He growled and sent a burst of flame towards Ge Jiang. Ge Jiang wasn't expecting it. He fell back and became unconscious.

Zuko said through gritted teeth, "I do care about her. I care about her more than I've cared about anyone else."

And with that he sprinted off. All around him the fights were becoming more vicious. He saw Mai sending her knives towards an Earthbenders. The Earthbender managed to deflect it. He sent an earth wave towards Mai propelling her into Zuko's direction. Mai would've crashed and seriously hurt her head had Zuko not grabbed her arm.

"Hey. Be careful," Zuko said.

Suddenly she drew a knife out and sent it flying above his head.

"What the—''

"You too," was all she said before bounding off. Zuko turned around and saw that Mai had thrown the knife at a man who was planning hit Zuko with a club. The man was now pinned to the wall with Mai's knife.

Zuko continued to run. He wanted to find Jin. He needed to explain things to her. He saw Ty Lee and He Shen fighting. Well, they looked as if they were flirting more than fighting.

"Ooh…you're so cute!" Ty Lee said as she tried to jab He Shen in the chest. He Shen backed away.

"You're not too bad yourself. I should write a song about you," He Shen said as he sent an earth spike towards Ty Lee. Ty Lee dodged it with a graceful somersault.

She giggled and said, "So you're a musician?"

"Poet-slash-musician-slash-artist ready to create awesomeness for a total cutie," He Shen said as he waggled his eye brows. He parried Ty Lee's punch.

Ty Lee blushed and said, "You're making blush. We're supposed to be mortal enemies."

He smirked and said, "If you weren't working for the majorly evil and cracked-up princess, I'd totally go out with you."

Zuko didn't bother to hear the rest of their conversation. He sprinted forwards, dodging Dai Li Agents and angry Earthbenders. As of now, it seemed as if both sides hated him. He couldn't blame them. Finally he caught side of Jin. She was fighting with a Dai Li Agent. Zuko was about to go towards her when a sword blocked his path.

"Not so fast son," a voice said.

Zuko was horrified to see that it was Duan Jie.

"Let me through. I don't want to hurt you," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"You've already hurt her enough. You're not going an inch near her!" Duan Jie declared.

Zuko sighed as Duan Jie thrust the sword towards him. Zuko easily dodged it. In one swift movement he was behind Duan Jie. He quickly jabbed his elbow unto his shoulder knocking him down.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said before running off.

He looked at Jin and saw that while she was holding up, it won't be long before she went down. Before Zuko made it towards her the Dai Li Agent hit her shin causing her to fall down. The Dai Li raised his hand ready to hit her when Zuko set a stream of fire towards him, propelling him away. Zuko hurried towards Jin to help her up.

"Here, let me help you," Zuko said as Jin rubbed her temple.

He tried to grab her arm but once she had realized who he was she swatted his arm away and angrily said, "Don't touch me!"

She stepped back away from him.

"I was just trying to help…"

"Get away from me Li—Zuko!" she snapped, catching herself after realizing she had just said "Li" instead of "Zuko."

"Look Jin! I had nothing to do with this!"

"Save it for some other clueless girl!" Jin spat.

Suddenly there was an explosion. Zuko looked around and watched in horror as the left side of the main room exploded, sending chunks of rock everywhere.

Jin gasped "What the—''

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Azula's maniacal laughter. Zuko watched in horror as Azula rose on top of a pile of rocks. She said, "Retribution is the sweetest thing! You blew up my headquarters and now, I'll blow up _yours!"_

And with that she sent bolts of lightning out everywhere. One shot through their direction.

"Watch out!" Zuko said as he pushed her away. The two of them tumbled unto the ground with Jin lying below Zuko.

"What are you doing!" Jin demanded.

"I'm trying to keep you from getting fried by Azula's lightning!" Zuko said.

"I'm not fried so you can shove off me now!" Jin said irritably as she slid out from underneath him. Things were exploding from everywhere. Hai was trying to defend Long from the rocks. Guai was earthbending an earth shield. Nuo ran around in circles in panic.

He looked at Ge Jiang and saw that the he was fighting with Azula. Ge Jiang was holding himself very well at the fight. He matched Azula evenly and for once he was glad to see his sister not as confident as she usually is. An explosion happened in another side. The whole place was crumbling down. If he didn't get out of here, the whole place would collapse.

He had to get Jin to safety. He saw her attacking a Dai Li Agent. Before she could reach him Zuko sent a wave of fire to block her.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked.

Zuko grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her along, "Getting you out of here. This whole place is about to collapse."

"Let me go!" Jin said as she struggled from his grasp. Zuko however held onto her firmly.

"We have to go!" Zuko insistently said.

They continued to struggle against each other when they saw Duan Jie fighting against a Dai Li Agent. He was clearly outmatched with his old age and untrained hands.

"Let me go! I have to help him!" Jin snapped.

Suddenly the ceiling above Duan Jie exploded. The whole room started shaking. It was starting. The Main Room was about collapse.

"We have to leave!" Zuko said.

"Everyone move out! Move out!" he heard Ge Jiang's voice say.

From the corner of his eye he could see Azula, Mai, Ty Lee and a few other Dai Li Agents were already exiting the place. He Shen was herding some people out through a tunnel while Ge Jiang was earthbending another passageway for some families. Guai and Long also escorted some people while Hai and Nuo scrambled away.

"Jin! Duan Jie! Come on!" Zuko insistently said.

But it was too late. Duan Jie did not notice the explosion above his head.

"No! Duan Jie!" Jin screamed.

Duan Jie only had enough time to look up before the rocks toppled on top of him and crushed him from everyone's sight.

* * *

Zuko led Jin through one tunnel and together they continued to run, hearing the sounds of the explosions and the small tremors it made. Jin didn't argue anymore. He guessed that she was still in a daze after seeing Duan Jie…..

Duan Jie.

Zuko heart tightened. Duan Jie was a good man. He was one of the few people who were really nice to him. And now he's dead. Zuko swallowed thickly. He could not bring himself to think about it. He can't be dead. He just can't be. But still, he knew that Duan Jie's chances of survival were slim. Even if he survived the rocks, the whole place would have collapsed all over him by now. And to think, the last thing he ever did to Duan Jie was knock him down.

Zuko felt the heat rising to his face.

It seemed as if Jin had broken out of her daze. Suddenly Jin forcefully took her hands away from him.

"Let me go!" Jin screeched.

"I'm trying to help you!" Zuko exploded. He didn't have time to patiently let her rage on him. Duan Jie's death, Azula….it overwhelmed him. He just couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, I don't need your help!" Jin snapped.

"I saved your life! Most people would be grateful!" Zuko

"Grateful for what _Zuko!_ That you lied to me and made me look like a fool in front of my brothers and everyone else!" Jin shrieked. Her eyes started getting puffy. Zuko cringed when he heard her say his name. It sounded slightly..unnatural.

"Jin….I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"But you did hurt me! You lied to me and stabbed me in the back! I trusted you! I put my honor on the line for you and you just led them here and now Duan Jie…..Duan Jie…..Duan Jie's….dead," Jin choked.

And with that she fell unto the floor and broke down crying. Zuko had never seen Jin cry before and seeing her in this state tightened his chest. She was hiccupping and sobbing and tears were streaming across her face. Zuko did nothing else but what his instinct told him. He sat next to her and hugged her and held her as she cried and sobbed into his chest.

"Shh….it's okay," Zuko comforted. It didn't sound so re-assuring since his voice cracked.

Suddenly Jin pushed him away and scowled, "Don't touch me!"

Zuko sighed. He pleadingly tried to reach out to her.

"Look! I said I'm sorry—''

"_But sorry doesn't cut it!" _Jin screamed.

Suddenly the earth shook. Zuko remembered that bending was tied to one's emotions. And if this gigantic tremor was any evidence of how Jin was feeling, he understood that she was beyond angry. Suddenly she earthbent him into the wall, pinning him there so he was immobile.

"Jin—''

"Sorry doesn't make up for the fact that you led them here, attacked the Resistance, endangered innocent lives and killed…." she trailed off with a pained look.

"I told you that it isn't my fault!" Zuko roared.

"Liar! You lied to me about everything! I can't believe I ever liked you! I can't believe I fell for you! I can't believe that I actually let you kiss me!" she shrieked. Zuko felt the tension of the cuffs pinning him to the wall tightening.

"I lied to you because I knew this would happen! I knew that you'd end up hating me!" Zuko spat.

Jin looked taken aback. She didn't release him although he could feel some of the tension easing in his wrist.

"You know what Jin? I thought that you were different from everyone else in the Earth Kingdom. I thought that you wouldn't judge me just because I am a Firebender. Now, I see that I'm wrong. You're just like everyone else in here!" Zuko continued. Jin looked hurt.

"That's not true…"

"Stop pretending that you actually care! Don't you think that I already know! You like Li, not Zuko! Not _me_," Zuko said. The truth, the pain, everything started to sink in.

"Of course I liked you! I really, really liked you! And you just betrayed me—''

"Stop it! Stop pretending as if things wouldn't have gone any differently if you knew who I really am! You're just like everybody else! The moment I tell you my real name you start judging—''

"I'm not mad because of who you are, Zuko! I'm mad because you betrayed me! I don't have anything against dating the prince of the Fire Nation!" Jin snapped.

"Oh really!" Zuko roared.

"I'm mad and angry and upset with you because you just betrayed me and everyone else. Ge Jiang was right! I shouldn't have vouched for you," Jin said. Her voice was cracking and the tears continued to stream down her face.

"I didn't betray you! Just listen—''

"I hate you! I hate you Zuko!" Jin spat.

That stung and hurt him a lot more than he expected. Zuko felt as if a ton of rocks were just dumped unto him.

Silence.

Zuko couldn't hear anything except Jin's panting and sobs.

Jin looked guilty. She said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was just upset—''

"Don't."

"Zuko, I didn't mean it. I don't hate you—''

"Don't. You've made it pretty clear."

Jin cried harder.

"Out of all the people in the world I had to fall for the stupid prince of the fire nation," she sniffled.

"Judging by the fact that you have pinned against the wall, I don't think you like me very much," Zuko dryly said.

Jin didn't say anything more. Instead she left him go, turned away from him and started walking in the direction of the Main Room. Zuko hated himself even more as he heard her sniffles and cries. He clenched his fists.

He knew that he shouldn't say anything else but he couldn't help it.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Jin didn't turn around to face him. Instead she said in a weak voice, "It's complicated."

* * *

_Aawww….sad chapter._

_I know not everyone is happy with the turn of events but I just had to go with it. I felt that it made my fic a bit more authentic. Every couple has to have their bad days. For those holding out on a Maiko reunion (but that seems really unlikely since most of my readers are Zujin/Jinko/Jinzu fans) it's not happening. It see Mai and Zuko as a more platonic friendship kind of thing. In my opinion it suits them better._

_SkorpionQueen012: Thanks for the awesome reviews. Made me feel awesome. :D_

_daveshan: Thanks for the review and the really helpful criticism. I know my Azula isn't as evil as she is supposed to be but I'm working it out. _

_TheApocalypticTarantula: Thanks for the review! Sorry to disappoint you but Jin and Zuko might not be reuniting very soon. Your review so made my day._

_Alana C. Jones: Don't worry. I didn't misunderstand you. I knew it was figure of speech, of course ;) Thanks for the review. It made my day._

_arica998: Thank you so much! Your review makes my heart grow three sizes bigger._

_And thanks to all those who read this or added it to their faves. Awesomeness._

_Don't leave me hanging._

_Keep the reviews coming. _


	12. Book Three

**Burning Bright**

_Book Three_

Katara sighed in frustration as her attempts at healing Aang, were once again failing. She was starting to lose hope and the feeling of losing Aang forever started to worsen. Sokka held firm with his belief that all that Aang needs is time but Katara wasn't so sure.

"Things like these just need time," Katara breathed, repeating the mantra that Sokka had her memorize. She emerged from the tent and saw that preparations for the retreat were already in full swing. Katara's father, Hakoda, was fixing the supplies up. Pipsqueak and Duke were loading the weapons while everyone else started packing the food. They had camped at Chameleon Bay although they were forced to escape because a Fire Nation Ship was coming. They were set to leave tonight.

Katara sighed in frustration. She was having a really difficult time coping with all these sudden changes and fast movement. She only hoped that once they miraculously make it to the Fire Nation, her brother would have a better, more detailed plan. So far, they've just been skirting in the edges of spontaneity.

"Katara! Katara!" she heard Sokka say. Katara whipped her head to the side and found Sokka running towards her. He looked concerned and slightly troubled. Behind him, Toph casually strode.

"Sokka," Katara acknowledged.

Sokka opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Toph, "Oh hey Sugar Queen. How's Twinkletoes?"

Katara exhaled loudly before saying, "Not so good. He'll hold up but otherwise….things are looking a little bleak."

"Well, that's miserable," Toph grumbled. She then added, "I think you should brace yourself for Sokka's news Sugar queen."

"Why? Is it bad?" Katara asked fearfully. They did not need another horrible circumstance right now.

"It depends on how you look at it," Toph piped.

"We're going to have to hold the Retreat for a few days," Sokka declared.

Katara dropped her jaw and said, "What? We can't do that! The Fire Nation is advancing! And you know we don't stand a chance against them."

Sokka rolled his eyes and said, "Hey, don't go blaming me. I'm just the idea-slash-planning-slash heavily underappreciated meat and sarcasm guy. I did not anticipate any of this."

"Anticipate what?" Katara demanded.

Sokka cleared his throat and began, "So I've been to a tavern at the outskirts of town—''

"You've been to a tavern? You shouldn't have been there! You're too young," Katara said as she shook her head. Her maternal instincts took over her. Toph snickered while Sokka sighed loudly, absolutely annoyed.

"I'm a man now. Going to a tavern is part of the many _activities _of manhood," Sokka argued.

"But still, you're a teenager and taverns are—''

"_Anyway_, while I was at the tavern I heard some stories," Sokka continued completely ignoring Katara's glares.

"I hope it's not those _kinds_ of stories," Katara said. Toph laughed louder while Sokka gave a huff.

"No, it's not those kinds of stories and would you please mind your own business!" Sokka retorted.

"You won't be so smug once I tell dad where you've been," Katara snapped.

"I've already told him where I've been and yes, he was slightly_….irritated_. But anyway, that's not the point. What I'm trying to tell you is that there's been a rebellion in Ba Sing Se," Sokka said. He looked excited and so did Katara. She felt a giddy sense of excitement as Sokka told her more of the details.

There was a full-blown Resistance with up to six hundred members, a gigantic and well organized headquarters and a weaponry stocked to the fullest. They had even managed to blow up the Dai Li Headquarters without injuring civilians. Katara felt a surge of hope as Sokka vibrantly recounted all the details. Things were looking up. That meant that the Fire Nation did not have complete control over Ba Sing Se. They had the Resistance to deal with. The Earth Kingdom had not completely fallen.

"That's great news! We have to tell the Earth King!" Katara exclaimed.

"But here comes the bad part…" Sokka said as he wagged a finger.

"Brace yourself," Toph added.

"The Resistance fell," Sokka sighed.

Katara's hopes dashed. She gaped, open-mouthed, as Sokka said, "The details from there….are kind of fuddled and confused. All I know is that Azula and that giant, stupid, jerkface Zuko barged into the Resistance and destroyed it."

"W-what? Destroyed it?"

"Yup. Blew the whole place up. Not much is left of it now."

"How did that happen?" Katara said faintly. She could not believe that this was happening. She suddenly felt great anger towards Zuko for allowing this to happen. She could not believe that she actually trusted him.

"Some say an insider from the Dai Li who was also a member from the Resistance squealed while the more popular theory was….well…"

"Well what?" Katara demanded.

"It's a bit more….er…unbelievable—I mean _colorful_," Sokka said.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, confused.

"People say that Zuko…._wooed_…one of the leaders of the Resistance," Sokka said, choosing his words carefully. The men at the tavern had phrased it in a much more different manner that would've made Katara go stomping all the way to the tavern to wash their mouths

"Wooed?" Katara said disbelievingly. She found it slightly unbelievable to hear that Zuko "wooed" a girl considering that he was such an angry and temperamental jerk who kept stabbing people in the back. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive but it was more of the fact that his personality is so unappealing and that he possessed no charm to be able to "woo" a girl whatsoever.

"Yeah, I know. Unbelievable that someone would actually be attracted to him in all his dirt-infested jerkiness. Anyway they say that he wooed one of the leaders of the Resistance so that she'll be able to tell him the exact location of their Headquarters," Sokka continued.

"That sounds terrible," Katara frowned.

"They're just rumors. Either way, the Resistance is now a no-show and their Headquarters is nothing but a pile of rocks. It's crazy," Sokka exclaimed.

"This is not good news. But still, I don't understand why we have to postpone the retreat," Katara frowned.

"This is where I'm getting confused on whether it's good news or bad news. A night ago, I received a messenger hawk," Sokka said.

"From the Fire Nation?" Katara gasped.

"If it was from the Fire Nation, we would have exploded by now," Toph quipped.

Katara glared at her but listened as Sokka said, "Actually I received a messenger hawk and a _carrier pigeon-owl. _But anyway, both were from the two leaders of the Resistance."

"Now way. Wait—how many leaders are they?" Katara inquired.

"Three. They've be called "The Triumvirate". I know. Their name sounds wickedly cool," Sokka smirked.

"So two of them sent you messages?" Katara prompted.

"Yup. One was from the sister—''

"Sister?" Katara asked.

"Yup. The one that Zuko supposedly "wooed". The three people in the Triumvirate are two brothers and a sister. All siblings," Sokka said.

"Bonding over killing Firebenders like a nice, happy family. They sound cool," Toph smirked.

"They've heard about us being camped in Chameleon Bay. And they want to meet up with us," Sokka said. His voice was a mixture of worry and excitement.

Katara frowned and rubbed her chin.

"So that's why we have to postpone the retreat. Isn't it rather dangerous?" Katara asked.

"Very, very, _very_ dangerous. First of all, the papers they used for the letters looked gross and slightly…_old_ so I'm not sure how long ago since they sent it. Secondly, we're not sure if the letter is authentic. It could be from the Fire Nation for all we know," Sokka said.

"Luck isn't on our side lately," Katara sighed.

"Luck is _never _on our side. But luckily you have _me,"_ Sokka said with a confident grin.

"Which is worse," Toph drawled.

Sokka sent her a glare before saying, "I've talked with dad and the Earth King about it and we've all come to one conclusion. _We're going to wait."_

"Can't you just send them another message so you can ask them to meet us up in a different place?" Katara asked.

"Not as easy as it sounds, Sugar Queen. I don't know how Fire Nation messenger hawks work but I do know how carrier pigeon-owls roll. They can only locate a person by scent. Unless you have something of the leader-person then that message is going nowhere," Toph said.

"And even if we do have something from one of the leaders we can't send any message. We can't risk the Fire Nation intercepting the message and finding out about us," Sokka said.

"They already know about us. That's why we're leaving remember? A Fire Nation ship is plowing our way, full steam ahead," Katara said reminding her brother of the implication.

"But they don't know about _them._ If they're hiding somewhere we wouldn't want the Fire Nation to know where they are. They've got injured people," Sokka informed his sister.

"Injured people? It's a wonder they haven't been captured yet," Katara whistled.

"Right. Anyway, as I've said I've talked it over with dad and the Earth king and they're all for the idea of staying. Truth to be told, the Earth King is even postponing his great escape to the big wide world," Sokka said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Really?" Katara chuckled.

It was all the Earth King could talk about these days. His grand escape from his life of monarchy. He and Bosco wanted to travel the world, see little wonders, experience how his subjects felt. Behind his back, Duke and Pipsqueak mocked him endlessly while Sokka made it no secret that he was jumping with joy that the bear was gone. He _hated_ that animal.

"He's super-duper interested to meet the Resistance leaders. He's literally peeing in his pants just thinking about that prospect," Toph snickered.

Sokka said, "Who can blame the guy for being excited? I'm pretty stoked to meet them. They sound like someone intellectual and scientific—''

"Here we go again," Toph groaned.

"—people who does not rely on their bending prowess to do everything for them. Their plan on blowing up the Headquarters by digging a series of tunnels underneath it was legendary!" Sokka exclaimed. Sokka's obsession over science was old and hardly new news but still, it never ceased to annoy Katara and Toph.

"Well…The Fire Nation ship won't be arriving in two days so we can make time," Katara shrugged.

"Yeah but by the next day, we have to leave, with or without them," Sokka said.

"What! But if we left and they show up…"

"We'd be leading them right to the Fire Nation. I know. But we can't do anything else about it," Sokka said dejectedly.

"That's awful! We can't just leave them here!" Katara frowned.

"As much as I hate that possibility, we can't risk it. If they don't show up by the time we have to leave then….they're on their own. We can't have the Fire Nation getting their greedy little claws all over Aang," Sokka frowned.

Katara looked as if she hated that plan while Toph looked uncertain. It wasn't much, Sokka knew but their options were limited. They had no more weapons, most of their ships were battered, and the number of sick people was rising. They just could not afford another problem right now. As of this moment, they were at the losing end of the war.

Sokka took a deep breath before saying, "We're just going to have to pray that they make it in time."

* * *

"Hey."

Zuko flinched and jumped up, startled by Mai's cold voice. He didn't look at her or even acknowledge her presence. He was too busy being angry.

For the past few days, he'd been fuming in his room, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to him. He felt really confused. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He didn't even know how he was supposed to feel! All he could think about was the hurt expression that etched across Jin's face and the anger that clung unto her voice. She hated him. She hated him and there was no way he could turn things around anymore.

When she left him in that stupid tunnel, he considered following her but he decided against it. She didn't seem particularly eager to talk or even look at him anymore. And Zuko could understand why.

He at first blamed everything on Azula and her friends Mai and Ty Lee. If it weren't for them, none of this would have happened. But as the days slowly moved on he began to realize that actually…everything was _his _fault. If he hadn't kept stringing Jin along, if he had just broken his ties with Azula things might've turned out differently.

And now Jin believes that he had done this intentionally.

He cursed himself.

In a way, he had done this intentionally. If he had just made a choice beforehand.

He sighed and ran hand through his hair.

"What?" he snapped bitterly as Mai drew closer. He was still angry at Mai and Ty Lee for being in cohorts with Azula. True, that they've been nice to him and that they were helpful but they could have given a better warning.

"Azula wants to talk to you. She says it's important," Mai said flatly. She stepped back a little, startled by Zuko's angry voice.

"Hmpgh. Whatever," Zuko muttered as he headed towards the lower decks where what Azula fondly called as "the planning room" was. He was about to descend down the stairs when Mai's cool and bored voice suddenly rose from its usual inflection.

"It's not our fault you know," she said.

Zuko ignored her and took one more step down.

"It's not fair the way you keep on putting the blame on me and Ty Lee like that," Mai continued.

Zuko scowled, spun around and said in a voice that was much louder than he meant to, "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I did warn you."

"Well, sorry but your warning wasn't exactly clear! Couldn't you have given me something less vague?"

Mai sighed before walking towards him and taking her place by his side.

"You had a choice and it seems to me you already made yours long before Azula cooked this plan up. It was up to you to reach out and grab the moment—_you didn't_. It's not our fault that you didn't act fast enough. You have no one but yourself to blame," she said quietly before descending down the stairs ahead of him.

Zuko gave a frustrated scowl before blowing off a stream of smoke, sending it all over the air.

Mai was right.

And he absolutely hated it.

* * *

Sokka splashed some water on his face, completely annoyed. He was trying to desperately wash off all the bear germs Bosco had given him after giving him a monumental lick on his face. Honestly, he could not fathom his hatred and annoyance for that bear. And to top it all off Pipsqueak and Duke decided to play a practical joke on him by spraying him with blue powder. He looked and smelled terrible! And his sister and Toph were not helping. In fact, if anything they were contributing to his messed-up appearance. Toph, in an attempt at a "joke", flung mud all over his face while Katara got mad at him for accidentally—_accidentally—_spilling all of Aang's herbal medicine.

When he finally got the gross mixture of blue and brown from his skin off, he concentrated on relaxing. He lay flat on his back and let the cool wind ripple through his face. When he, Katara, the Earth king, that _annoying_ bear and Toph first came here in Chameleon bay, he had found a small nook of water that pooled underneath a glade of trees. He had found it while on an attempt to hunt for some meat. It was a quiet and peaceful place—the perfect place to get away from all the hectic nonsense that had camped across shore.

Things were way too intense for him to process lately. Aang being half-dead (Katara hates it when he uses that term but he calls it as it is), the Resistance falling, their fleet not being in good shape….everything was pretty down in the dumps. And there was that thing with the Resistance members showing up. If they didn't come in time, he could be very well leading them to their doom.

Sokka looked at the sun and rubbed his temple. It was almost sunset which meant that the day would be over. That would mean that the Resistance leaders only had tomorrow before morning before they left completely. Judging by the fact that not a trace of them had appeared yet, he guess that chances were slim.

They can't make any more time. They just can't.

Sokka sighed before saying loudly to himself, "Oh why is the world so crazy?"

Suddenly he saw someone move in between the tress.

Sokka fell from his back float and nearly drowned.

He lowered himself into the pool and he cautiously kept his eyes above water level.

"Duke! Pipsqueak! Knock it off!" Sokka yelled. If someone was in here with him, then the situation was not ideal. He was half-naked and dressed in his underwear. If it was Duke and Pipsqueak playing another practical joke on him, he wasn't sure he could be embarrassed any further. He was wearing his _underwear _after all.

No one answered but the rustling and the soft patter of footsteps continued. He caught a glimpse, perhaps a silhouette of the intruder as he or she darted to another corner.

It definitely wasn't Duke or Pipsqueak but he was pretty sure whoever it was, was a girl. She was too tall to be Duke and she was too slender and slim to be Pipsqueak. He guessed that it must be Toph. The color drained from his face. How embarrassing.

"Toph! Could you please give me some time to put my pants on before you—''

Other silhouettes and figures followed after the unknown intruder.

"Okay….so you're not Toph," Sokka nervously said. There were more of them he anticipated. They might be the Fire Nation. Which meant that they were here. He had to warn the others. If this was the Fire Nation he was pretty sure he had a chance of defeating them by simply flashing his underwear and causing them to die by laughing to death.

Sokka hastily swam towards a rock where his clothes were perched. He was about to emerge from the water to pull his pants on when he heard another rustle of movement.

He whipped his head to the side and watched a vague figure move in between the rocks.

In one swift move, he grabbed his boomerang and swung it towards the figure without even thinking.

What?

People were milling around him and he was in his underwear.

What else was he supposed to think?

He made a move to get out of the water when a column of earth shot towards him, propelling him into a tree. Before he had time to think, two rocks the size of eggs swung towards him. Sokka clumsily avoided them and started ducking downwards.

"Toph! Is that you? Because if is, I think I'd like you to know that crawling around the ground in my underwear isn't very easy," Sokka hollered as he crawled unto the dirty floor. Rocks and earth spikes grappled towards him from everywhere. A rock crashed beside him, sending fragments everywhere.

"Okay. I think that it's clarified now. You're not Toph," Sokka muttered weakly.

"Ouch!" he gasped as something hit him from the back. He rubbed his head and he perked up once he realized that the thing that hit him was his precious boomerang.

"Boomerang!" he said.

With much more confidence, he stood up and he angled his boomerang in front of him like a shield.

"I don't know who you are or what horrible things you plan to do to me but just so you know my friend happens to be the Avatar and when he finds out—''

"Your friend is the Avatar?" a soft but strong voice said.

Sokka's cheeks burst into flame when his attacker emerged.

It was a _girl._

And not just any kind of girl. A pretty, gorgeous, really hot girl.

She was tall and slender with a kind, pretty and friendly face and killer legs that were slim and shapely. Her eyes were wide and almond-shape and she was wearing an outfit similar to the Dai Li's although it looked slightly threadbare with its loose threads and dirt caked all over it. Two arm guards and led guards were slapped unto her feet and arms. Her hair was a rat's nest and her eyes looked tired and weary.

Sokka was then vaguely aware that he was still in his underwear.

That did not improve his ability to speak with eloquence in the least bit.

"Um….um…." Sokka stuttered.

"Because if you are, you could help us. We need to know where Chameleon Bay is," she said eagerly as she stepped forward. Other figures emerged around her. Most of them were children and old people with a few who looked like fighters.

Sokka's jaw dropped as he came to a realization.

"You're one of the Resistance members!" Sokka sputtered.

"I'm one of its leaders actually," the girl smiled. She looked a little proud.

"But you're a girl!" Sokka said in disbelief. Oops. That came out really wrong.

Don't get him wrong. He wasn't a sexist. Okay. He was very sexist but it wasn't his fault. He lived in the South Pole his whole life which was by the way a Patriarchal Society.

The girl snorted before retorting, "And you're in your underwear!"

She glared at him, her steely hazel-green eyes boring into his.

Sokka blushed before grabbing a leaf and using it as a very meager cover for his underwear.

"Hey! Don't start with all the name-calling yet, sister! I'm not the one who was spying around while I took a dip!" Sokka defensively said. The girl's cheeks colored and Sokka smiled triumphantly.

"For your information, we got lost when we saw you and we were considerate enough to try not to disturb you in your dip!" the girl said peevishly. Around her, her companions stirred and stared at Sokka with an amused and slightly mocking expression. Sokka shrank in his place.

"But you did disturb me!" Sokka protested.

"I said we _tried _not to disturb you_._ And besides, we would have left you alone if you had thrown your boomerang at Hai!" the girl said gesturing at a reedy and thin looking man at her right. Hai sheepishly waved.

"Oops. Sorry man," Sokka called out to Hai before saying to himself, "My boomerang is a force of destruction."

"So are you really the Avatar's friend!" the girl prodded.

"In fact, I'm much better. I'm team Avatar's idea guy!" Sokka said with a flourish. The girl stood at him with an amused expression and a large grin on her face. He guessed that he wasn't so impressive in his underwear.

"Yes. I am in fact Aang's friend. My dad is the leader guarding Chameleon Bay," Sokka sighed.

"Will you take us there! We have so many people who need help!" the girl said. She gestured at a teenager being supported by two adults and a few people being carried in stretchers.

"Of course I will! Just give me a sec to change—''

"But some of these people are dying! We don't have a sec!" the girl argued. Sokka opened his mouth to say no but decided against it after one of the sick people wailed.

"Huh. Fine. I'll bring you there now. But just so you know, Duke, Pipsqueak and Toph will be having a very long laugh about this," Sokka sighed grudgingly as he grabbed his clothes and started leading them back to the shoreline. That girl was quite persuasive with her persistence and stubbornness. She reminded him of Toph a little.

"Thank you so much! And by the way, I wouldn't worry too much about your…erm…situation. Your undies aren't all that bad!" the girl said with a mocking grin as she caught up with him. Sokka couldn't help a chuckle.

"If only the others see it that way. So, I never got your name," Sokka said.

The girl smiled, paused in mid-step, held her hand out and said in a friendly voice, "My name is Jin. I'm one of the leaders of the Resistance."

"As I've heard. I'm Sokka of the Water Tribe," Sokka said, puffing his chest out in pride.

"Sokka? Aren't you one of the Avatar's companions who's travelled with him all over the world?" Jin said in awe. Sokka blinked at her in surprise. It was very rare that people heard of him. Mostly because, when people mention the Avatar they tend to only remember Toph and Katara—those who could actually bend and fight properly.

Not that he couldn't' fight properly either but compared to Aang's two other, _bending_ companions, he wasn't exactly the most memorable one. He was however, surprised that Jin looked mildly impressed.

Sokka smirked, obviously enjoying the fact that he managed to impress a really hot girl.

"Yup. As I've said, I'm the Avatar's idea guy. I can't bend but you'll find that most of the plans that we've pushed through were cooked up by _me_," Sokka proudly said.

"I can't believe it! I'm actually going to meet him!" Jin excitedly said at the mention of Aang. Sokka deflated. As always, things revolved right back to Aang.

Sokka's face fell and he said carefully, "I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up."

"Why not?" Jin asked.

"Well…._you'll see_. But anyway, enough about me. I've heard about you guys too. Heard that you blew up the Dai Li's Headquarters without getting any casualties on your side. Awesome plan," Sokka said eager to divert the topic. He didn't want to crush Jin's hopes yet.

Jin smiled and said, "That was my idea you know…."

"Really?"

As they continued to talk, Sokka's apprehensions with Jin were slowly melting away. She proved to be great company since she had a decent amount of knowledge about science and such. She was a wide-reader, surprising well-learned for someone who lived in the Lower Ring and she was a critical thinker too. And she knew how to make haikus so that was a great plus.

Their conversation soon lapsed into the place where Jin lived which was in Ba Sing Se.

"That was the worst place I have ever been in," Sokka shuddered.

"I know it's pretty bad. But when this war is over, maybe the Fire Nation isn't the only thing that is going to change. Ba Sing Se will become better someday," Jin said, her eyes sparking with hope.

"Well good luck with that," Sokka said sarcastically.

"Hey! I happen to know that the South Pole isn't much of a sight either!"

"I'm working on it! Just so you know, I've already started the construction on the walls and the towers!" Sokka said. Okay, it was a little bit of a stretch from the truth but at least he didn't lie. His many forts and towers were beyond impressive.

To ten year olds anyway.

Jin looked impressed again. Sokka smiled.

"Really?" she said.

"Yup. My dad left me to take care of our tribe when I was really young. So I had to grow up fast to you know…I could take care of some of our tribe's…issues," Sokka nodded.

"Why did he leave?"

"Who?"

"Your dad," Jin said. She looked a little cautious, almost afraid. Sokka gave her a big smile to show that this topic wasn't as edgy as she thought it would be.

"He had to help in the war effort after the last Waterbender got taken. It's no big deal. All that matters is that he's not dead. We thought we lost him but we didn't," Sokka said.

Jin's face suddenly looked sad and wistful, "Yeah. It's a good thing you found each other again. He sounds like a great dad."

Sokka smiled, "He sure is."

"You should hold on to him tight. Don't let him leave you again," Jin said. Her eyes suddenly turned misty and her skin paled and became cold and clammy.

"So…what about your dad? What's he been up to?" Sokka asked.

Jin looked away from him and pretended not to hear him.

She said in a strained voice, "Let's stop for awhile. We have to wait for the others to catch up."

* * *

"What do you want Azula?" Zuko snapped as he entered the "planning" room. It was located at the middle of the lower deck, fully furnished and lit brightly by flaming torches. Azula was sitting idly on a plush chair with Ty Lee cowering and looking guilty at her side. Mai was leaning against the wall looking bored and apathetic as she played with her knives. The ship's captain laid bowed across the floor.

"Hello, Zuzu. I'm so glad that you're finally talking to us," Azula smirked.

Zuko glared at her and snapped peevishly, "Just tell me what you want."

Azula sighed and said, "Very well. First things first, you better give your sulky attitude a major overhaul. We're expected to arrive at the Fire Nation by tomorrow morning and I don't want you being grumpy when we present ourselves to father."

Something rose in Zuko's throat once he heard the word "home". He didn't know how he was supposed to feel. He felt slightly undeserving to go home seeing as he had planned on betraying Azula and joining the Resistance. After Jin had left him alone, he started wandering around the tunnel looking for an exit. Apparently Azula was looking for him too. Azula welcomed him like a big hero and she persistently pretended as if he had a big role in the defeat of the Resistance (although he supposed that that wasn't a far stretch since he did lead them to their headquarters). He thought that Azula would scorn him and cast him aside because he was very sure she knew of his true intentions.

But she didn't and now she continued to pretend as if he never planned on betraying them.

Zuko felt extremely uncomfortable with this. He can't help feeling as if Azula has a hidden agenda.

Zuko scowled and said through gritted teeth, 'I'll give it a try."

Azula snorted and said, "You better. Your attitude is enough to dampen everyone's celebratory mood—including _mine. _Lighten up, will you? We just took the Resistance down before it even started and soon the walls of Ba Sing Se will be reduced to rubble."

Zuko looked away from her, remembering how Jin's hopeful face quickly morphed into one of horror.

Azula suddenly laughed in a cruel and mocking way. She said easily, "Aw, Zuzu? Still thinking about _her?"_

"No!" Zuko cried out defensively.

Azula sighed and said unfeelingly, "Forget about her Zuko. She's just a peasant. Hardly worth the trouble. And besides you have your honor, your home, everything back. I'm sure you'll find some other girl to amuse you back home."

Zuko clenched his jaw. The truth was he wasn't really all for the idea of going out with another girl yet. All he could think about was Jin and how much things dissolved between them pretty quickly. Zuko muttered something incomprehensible under his breath before turning around and saying, "Anything else Azula?"

"Yes, there is one more thing. More good news. We have captured one of them," Azula announced.

"What?" Zuko asked his chest tightening.

"Ugh. Honestly, Zuko can you please keep up! I'm talking about the Resistance leaders," Azula said.

Zuko spun around quickly, his heart hammering in anticipation. He hoped it wasn't Jin. He crossed his fingers at his back.

"What! Who?" Zuko asked wildly.

Azula chuckled and said dismissively, "Oh don't worry. It isn't your girlfriend. Oops. I mean _ex-girlfriend_."

Azula smiled at him clearly enjoying his worried and annoyed expression. Zuko continued to worry although he felt relieved that Jin was safe. He didn't want any of her brothers to be captured—even Ge Jiang. The two only meant well for the Earth kingdom people.

"It's the eldest one. And I must say he is quite annoying. Puts up a really good fight," Azula said as she flicked a lock of her hair away.

Zuko balled his fists and resisted the urge to wipe that stupid smirk off Azula's face.

"Ge Jiang," Zuko mumbled.

"That's his name, hm?" Azula smiled.

"If that's all you have to say then I'll be in my room," Zuko snapped.

"The others evaded us though. Narrowly, if I might add," Azula continued pretending that she hadn't heard Zuko.

Zuko growled, proceeding to stomp away trying to drown out Azula's voice who crying, "But don't worry! It won't be long before we capture your _girlfriend_ and that brother of hers!"

* * *

Katara sighed in weariness as she pounded some more herbs. She had tried everything. Creams, lotions, medicine—she even exhausted most of her bending powers by trying to desperately nurse Aang back to health with her healing abilities. Sadly, nothing seemed to wake him and he continued on his deep slumber. Toph was eating some dinner in one of the tents while Pipsqueak and Duke were off doing some mischief. The Earth King was making preparations for his "great travel" while her dad and the other water tribe members started preparing for their journey tomorrow. Sokka had strangely, secretly run off somewhere. Katara frowned. She hoped her brother wasn't getting himself into too much trouble.

She sighed as the light started fading and the sky started bleeding blue. The Resistance Leaders had not arrived yet and that worried her. She certainly did not want to leave them to fend for themselves in the Fire Nation. As soon as the herb was pounded into a thick paste she quickly added some Kuai Berries, for a cooling effect.

She was about to go back to Aang's tent when suddenly a commotion broke out through camp. She heard the distinct voice of someone yelling from the distance followed by the clamor of everyone's voices. Everyone started sprinting into the direction of the forest, including Toph who was still holding her half-finished bowl in her hands.

"What's going on?" Katara demanded, grabbing Toph's arm and stopping her for a moment.

"Sokka's come back. And it looks as if he isn't alone," Toph said pointing a finger at a particular direction.

Katara looked to where Toph was pointing at and saw that her brother had emerged through a thicket of thick trees wearing nothing but his underwear. Katara wrinkled her nose and tried to keep her laughter. Beside him, stood a tall, slim and slender girl with jet black hair that was slightly messy and choppy, fashioned into two braids. She was wearing an outfit similar to the Dai Li's although it was sleeveless, showed off her bare midriff and she wore arm and leg guards. She looked amiable and friendly enough with her bright and inviting smile although her eyes looked weary and tired.

Katara and Toph hurried towards them along with everyone else. As she drew closer, Katara saw that more people were emerging from the thicket—women, men, children, old people—all of whom looked tired and word-down.

"Katara! Toph! I found them! I found them!" Sokka excitedly said as soon as he saw his sister and Toph. He was jumping up and down eagerly and pointing very indiscreetly at the girl.

"Actually, _we_ found Sokka," the girl quipped. She flashed Katara a very friendly smile. Katara reluctantly returned her smile.

"Son what's going on?" Hakoda said as he weaved his way through the crowd. Behind him the Earth King followed.

As soon as the girl and the other people saw the Earth King they all reluctantly fell to their knees. The Earth King stared at them, confused.

"Um….thank you but that's really unnecessary," Kuei sheepishly muttered.

"Oh, but we are here only to pay honors to the Great Earth King of Ba Sing Se," the girl murmured although she didn't sound too happy.

It was as if she finally understood something. Katara's eyes widened in realization.

"You're the people from the Resistance!" she gasped. Everyone suddenly fell silent.

"Well duh! Honestly, Katara, it took you _that_ long to figure it out," Sokka chortled.

Katara sent him a glare and said irritably, "Hey! I'm not the one walking around in my underwear!"

Toph snickered from behind her and said, "He's in his underwear?"

"Hey! I had to make myself look like an idiot in order for us to get here in time to save sick people! So why don't we stop gawking at them and actually get a move on it! Come on people! We've got sick and injured people here!" Sokka hollered, his face flushing in embarrassment.

Everyone, who looked as if they were in a daze, quickly snapped back to focus. People milled towards them, helping those who were injured. The Earth King, who looked very shocked, quickly recovered. He scrambled towards her, grabbed her hand and began to shake it vigorously.

"I've heard so much about you! Jin of Ba Sing Se, leader of the Resistance! Such a pleasure! Such a great honor!" the Earth King rambled as he shook her hand.

Behind her, Hakoda grabbed Sokka's arm and said, "Son, I've got a little problem with the rigging—''

"Not now dad. I'm kind of in a situation," Sokka awkwardly said gesturing at his underwear.

Toph laughed loudly as she slurped some of her stew saying good-naturedly, "These are the times where I wish I wasn't blind."

Sokka grumped before stomping off to his tent with his clothes in hand. Katara stayed behind and watched as the girl—Jin—gave a low bow and said humbly, "It is quite an honor to be in your presence as well, your Majesty."

The Earth King's face fell. He quickly stopped her mid-bow and said, "Oh no. Don't call me that anymore. I'm afraid I am not worthy of that name."

Katara wasn't sure if she was imagining it but something in Jin's eyes told her that she silently agreed with what Kuei said.

"And neither am I worthy of the name Jin of Ba Sing Se, Leader of the Resistance. It's really too dramatic for someone like me," Jin chuckled. Katara instantly liked her. She seemed like a light and easy person to get along with.

"Oh, but you don't understand! You've done so much for my people! I can't honestly thank you enough! You know, it was a desire of mine to meet you before I leave," the Earth King rambled.

"Leave?' Jin said. Her face fell.

"The earth King's going to take…a little trip from his life of wealth and monarchy with Bosco, his bear," Katara said deciding that it was the right time to interrupt.

Jin looked worried. She sputtered, "But—but—but you can't! Right now, all that everyone wants is some guidance! A leader! Your people need you! _We_ need you!"

She gestured at all the Resistance members who were slowly being led into tents.

Kuei looked away, obviously shamed. He said, "I don't know if you've noticed but…I'm not really the kind of leader people want to look up to. All of you would be better off without me. I'm a failure."

Jin's somewhat angry expression melded into a look of pity. She reached her hand out and said, "No, I'm sure that that's not true—''

The Earth King smiled wearily at her before saying, "It's quite alright. No need to feel sorry for me. I just need to get away from things for awhile. Earn a little bit of wisdom by traveling the world and by being like everyone else."

Toph snorted in agreement while Jin's face looked blank.

"I guess…I guess you're right," Jin finally said after moments of awkward silence.

The Earth King immediately gave a respectful bow with his head saying, "It was nice to meet you Jin of Ba Sing Se, Leader of the Resistance. I must get going however. Me and Bosco need to finish packing."

Without waiting for Jin to reply, he scampered off, looking abashed and flustered.

Jin looked slightly crestfallen though she maintained her happy demeanor. Katara was about to speak when Toph chew loudly, placed an arm around Jin and said, "Mr. High-And-Mighty-Royal is right Smiley—''

"Smiley?" Jin smirked, incredulous but greatly amused at the same time.

"Toph likes to give…er…" Katara fumbled for an explanation. She glared at Toph embarrassed.

"Nicknames?" Jin offered though she didn't look too mad.

Toph waved her hand and said, "Don't mind it. And anyway, as I was saying, don't work yourself up too much about the Earth King. He's right. You all would be better off without him."

Jin laughed a little and said, "I guess you're right. But still…um…not too many people actually like my leadership role as of this moment."

She suddenly looked uneasy.

Katara, being the slightly (really slightly) nosy busybody that she is, was dying to prod Jin for more questions. She however saw the closed-up expression on Jin's face and decided not to push her. She had a long weary day leading these people, her hair was a rat's nest and her skin had a thin layer of dirt covering it.

Katara placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her towards a small, hidden alcove at the bay where a pleasant stream of water ran. Toph walked with Jin at her side.

"You must want to take a bath with all that dirt on you," Katara said.

Jin gave a small laughed and said, "Oh no thanks! I'd like to stay this way for at least one more day. You call it dirt. I call it a healthy coating of earth!"

She moved her hands in one swift and solid motion and some of the dirt that clung to her skin, immediately shot off and made a circle in the air.

Toph laughed while Katara's eyes widened.

"You're an earthbender!" she gasped. Jin smiled.

"That's the spirit! I _like_ you!" Toph hollered as Jin's hands limped and all the dirt that swirled in a circle dropped to the ground.

Katara, taken aback, by Jin's comment wrinkled her nose before giving a loud laugh. She grabbed Jin's arm and led her towards a slowly growing bonfire. She said, "Well, if you don't want to take bath then I suppose you should be having some dinner with us."

* * *

The boat experienced a little tumult on their way home. A storm had come up unexpectedly. The captain suggested that they wait it out on a small group of isles that were named after Zuko's uncle's deceased wife (thinking about his uncle made him feel guilty all over again). Azula however was having none of it and she demanded that they brave the storm out. Zuko grumbled, feeling that Azula was a little too eager to return home.

The captain had looked at him helplessly, perhaps giving out a silent plea to help him though Zuko could do little to against Azula. From his years of experience it was always better to go along with everything she says. And besides, Azula gave him the look that clearly said "if you against me, I'll tell Dad" a look he often got when they were younger. And considering the fact that he used to date an Earth Kingdom girl who was by the way one of the leaders of the Resistance and he was fully aware of it—Azula had plenty to tell their father if he did something to irk her.

His thoughts suddenly reverted back to Jin. He began to wonder what had happened to her. Was she safe? Or was she running for her? Or perhaps she was imprisoned?

Zuko sighed, hoping that she was okay. He should have followed her, he told himself. Make her listen to him. Make her understand. He should have fought hard for her to stay. Zuko rolled over to his left side as the boat rocked to the side.

"Yeah, right. As if she would listen to you," Zuko scowled to himself.

There was no point in pining for Jin.

She hated him.

And there was no chance of her ever coming back.

* * *

Katara noted that Jin was very charming as she managed to capture the attention and the awe of Sokka, Pipsqueak, Duke—even Toph. And for that she was slightly jealous.

Sokka was severely impressed with her, mostly because she was well-learned and also very interested in the scientific aspect of bending. At the campfire, over a warm bowl of soup, Jin told Sokka about a great book written by a professor named Lilun that talked about how bending was not powered by some mystical spirits but by molecular particles rubbing off against—Katara sighed. The rest was foreign to her and as the conversation progressed, she had no idea what Jin and Sokka were talking about.

"I always knew th there was more to bending than mystical animal creatures," Sokka said his hands moving about wildly.

Katara and Toph rolled her eyes.

She had also won the respect of Toph—at least she had won enough respect to be called her proper name—since the two of them seemed to have so much in common. At first glance, Jin seemed to be the regular feminine type with her braided hair and easy demeanor. However, Katara discovered that she had a slightly tomboyish streak to her. She listened as Toph and Jin discussed riding buffalo-horses bare back and playing in the mud.

"I personally like the Boulder!" Jin said as the discussion turned to Earthbending tournaments.

"No way! I'm for the Boulder too!" Sokka said.

Toph snorted, looking offended for the first time. "Well I'm always for the Blind Bandit."

"You mean she's real? She's not some sort of thing that people from the Earthbending rink just say to get more promotion?" Jin asked her eyes widening.

"You're looking at her," Toph huffed proudly.

"No way!" Jin said.

And with that the conversation continued in a raging debate about the Boulder and other Earthbenders.

She also went along with Pipsqueak and Duke quite well since she had a very humorous streak to her. She joked and laugh. One thing that Katara noticed was that nothing seemed to faze her. Her face seemed to be etched with a perpetual smile.

Still, deep beneath layers of her happy demeanor, Katara could see a sadder, more unhappy undercurrent though it looked as if she was trying to desperately hide it. Katara suddenly felt more sorry than jealous after realizing what a burden it must be to always pretend that her world is perfect and nothing is wrong.

Still she couldn't help the jealousy that was bubbling inside knew that she sometimes drove people wild with her motherly ways and actuations

Then Jin complimented her cooking and Katara stopped feeling jealous. She was sold.

"I'm a horrible cook," Jin muttered as Katara assured her that her cooking is no better than the rest.

"I'm sure that that's not true," Katara said.

"If it were up to my brother, he'd be telling it quite differently," Jin scoffed.

Hakoda, who had amused himself by conversing with Hai suddenly perked up. He said, "Speaking of your brother, do you have any news of him?"

A discomfort hung in the air. Katara was suddenly aware that Jin's brother, the leaders of the second batch of Resistance members, had not yet arrived. If they won't show up by tomorrow morning then they will just have to leave without them.

Jin's face withered and she said in a small voice, "I haven't heard from either of them. Why? Did he send you a message?"

Her face suddenly looked hopeful, Katara was afraid to erase her joyous expression with the news they were about to give.

Sokka said grimly, "One of them sent us a message through carrier pigeon-owl. He was supposed to meet up with us here too."

Jin looked away and her eyes looked glassy.

"I see," she murmured. Other Resistance Members looked sad and defeated.

"And he hasn't arrived yet? No news of him?" Jin asked loudly after moments of silence.

"We were hoping to get the answer to that question from you," Katara said. She placed an arm around Jin, in an effort to comfort her.

"No. I haven't heard of him. When the Headquarters collapsed, everyone spread out through different directions. I managed to…um…_escape_ and I saw Hai with a few others and I decided to lead them in hopes that we'll reunite with my two brothers. We went through the wall using the passageways we built and we started travelling," Jin said.

"How did you hear about us? _From taverns_?" Toph asked giving Sokka a light punch. Sokka gave an annoyed howl before looking away.

"I broke into a Fire Nation base to steal a messenger hawk in hopes that I'll be able to send a message to one of my brothers. While inside, I heard about a Fire Nation Ship coming to Chameleon Bay since a Water Tribe Base was here. I wasn't so sure if we should go there but I heard rumors that the Avatar was with you, so I sent you guys a message," Jin said.

Sokka whistled at her lengthy tale while Katara rubbed her shoulders.

"Well…he sent us a message too," Hakoda said.

Jin's face lit up.

"Then that means that he'll arrive soon!" Jin excitedly said.

Hakoda poked his son, his face clearly saying that he wanted Sokka to give the news. Sokka looked uneasy having to explain the implication to her.

"But see, Jin…if your brother doesn't show up….by tomorrow morning then, we have to leave. It's not that we have anything against you guys but you know Aang is here and—''

"It's alright Sokka. Really. I understand," Jin said although it looked as if she was trying to convinve herself more than Sokka.

Silence filled the campfire and Katara squirmed feeling uncomfortable.

"So is it true Prince Jerkface _wooed_ you?" Sokka said trying to lighten things up.

Jin stared ta him blankly, "Who?"

"Zuko. Prince Zuko. I've heard some rumors," Sokka shrugged.

Jin looked away again, as though she didn't hear him. All the Resistance members started to squirm.

"It didn't happen in _that_ way," Jin said with a tone of finality. From her place, Toph raised a brow at Jin but said nothing. All around her, the Resistance Members were giving Jin skeptical looks though they didn't say anything else.

"So when can I meet the Avatar?" Jin asked to fill the silence that started growing again.

It was Katara's turn to look sad. In a low voice she said, "When he wakes up."

* * *

"Prince Zuko! Prince Zuko! Your Highness?"

Someone banged at his door, waking his sleep and interrupting his dreams.

Or nightmares more like it.

He was having more of those than usual.

In his dream Jin was on fire and she kept screaming at him to save her. Azula's laughter roared in the distance and the fire grew brighter. Jin held her hand out and just as Zuko made a move to grab it, everything collapsed on top of him.

Zuko rubbed his head and realized that he was sweating profusely. For a moment, he thought that he was back in the Earth Kingdom with all its stoned walls and green décor. Then he saw the flaming red flags and felt the boat tip to the left by a hurtling wave and he remembered where he was. The banging continued.

"Prince Zuko! Your Higness!"

Zuko scowled, stomped his way to the door, flung it opened and snapped, "What!"

The servant cowered under his glare and he said in a small voice, "The princess has requested for your presence. We have arrived. We are here in the Fire Nation."

* * *

Katara heard the commotion from the decks. She quickly scrambled along with everyone else who was crowding around something.

"What's going on?" she asked the man named Hai.

They were all wearing Fire Nation armor in clothing in an attempt to disguise themselves. The Fire Nation fleet came a lot earlier than expected and they had no time to make a proper retreat on their boats so they had to take one ship over and go on masquerading that they were from the Fire Nation.

"I don't know! I just heard shouting," Hai shrugged.

From the throng, Aang suddenly emerged. Katara's eyes widened and Hai's jaw dropped.

Katara gasped in disbelief, "Aang! You're awake!"

Aang yawned and said, "Are you sure?"

He rubbed his eyes and said, "I feel like I'm dreaming!"

"Aang! Good to see you back with the living buddy!" Sokka said, pushing Katara aside. Katara huffed at him.

"Sokka?" Aang said dazedly.

Toph said, coming up from beside Katara, "Uh oh. Somebody catch him! He's gonna—''

And with that Aang fainted.

Everyone broke out in worried murmurs and soon it was pandemonium as Resistance Members and Water Tribe people alike crowded around Aang, eager to get a glimpse of the Avatar. For weeks, Katara, like a protective mother hen, had confined him in a room at the Lower Decks and banned anyone from seeing him declaring that it would disturb Aang. Now that the Avatar was awake, everyone was eager to touch him, to see him, to get a piece of him.

"Step back everybody! Give him some space!" Sokka hollered. It took awhile but finally everyone moved a little.

It took awhile before Aang came around. Sokka had gone off somewhere in search for food while Toph went to the Lower Decks to lie down.

"Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one out of it?" Aang demanded as soon as he snapped back to focus. He looked confused.

"You need to take it easy, o.k? You got hurt pretty bad. I like your hair," Katara offered. Hai handed Aang a red robe.

Aang's eyes widened and he touched his scalp.

"I have hair? How long was I out?"

"A few weeks," Katara said.

"Everything ok?" Hakoda asked from behind.

"We're find dad," Katara snapped, looking away. She couldn't help the resentment that bubbled through her. At first, she was glad to be with her dad. But as they sailed on in the Fire Nation Ship, she started feeling betrayed by him for leaving her and Sokka to fend for themselves in the South Pole.

Hakoda started introducing himself to Aang much to Katara's chagrin. She couldn't help snapping some sort of comment. Aang looked at her curiously as he shook Hakoda's hand.

"Would you mind giving us a little privacy?" Katara demanded once the introductions were over.

"Of course," Hakoda said. He gave his daughter a strange look before stalking off.

"Are you mad at your dad or something?" Aang asked.

"What? Not at all, why would you say that?" Katara demanded guiltily. She was sort of mad at her dad but Aang didn't really need to know that yet.

"Mmm…hmmm.." Aang suddenly doubled over and clutched his side in pain.

Katara's motherly side took over. She grabbed his shoulder and said, "Maybe we should go upstairs. You need a healing session."

Katara spent a few minutes healing Aang and truth to be told the experience was slightly draining and dampening. He kept on raging about how stupid he was and how he went down and the worst part was, Katara could do little to comfort him since he seemed to not hear a word she said. When Toph called for dinner, she was relieved. She and Aang went downstairs where they all sat at the deck and ate noodles. Katara looked around and noted that Jin and a few other people had not yet emerged. Aang got some color back to him although he still looked tired.

Sokka decided it upon himself to tell the story of what happened since Aang was unconscious.

Sokka said, "After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone. Anyway, before we left leaders from the Earth Kingdom Resistance—''

"There was a Resistance?" Aang gasped his eyes widening.

Sokka nodded and continued his tale, "Yeah. After Azula zapped you, three people, all siblings led a Resistance. But anyway, the Resistance fell—''

"Oh," Aang said. His face fell.

Sokka looked annoyed to be interrupted. He said, "Okay, the Resistance fell, their Headquarters were in ruin and so on and so forth. So anyway, two of the leaders of the Triumvirate—that's what the siblings called themselves by the way—sent me a letter through carrier pigeon-owl and messenger hawk—''

"They sent you a message? About what?" Aang asked.

Sokka huffed at him but Katara gave him a light slap. Annoyed Sokka grumped, "A message saying to wait for us 'cause we'll be coming here. One of them arrived but the other didn't yet. We were going to wait a little longer but the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise."

"You left them the other leader to fend for himself! But since you've left, they might come and….and…we're leading them straight to the Fire Nation!" Aang cried completely horrified.

"We had to Twinkletoes. We had to keep you safe. It was the only way," Toph said.

Aang scowled and said, "How am I supposed to be a good Avatar if keep letting people die by not being there for them?"

Toph shrugged and said, "You won't be a good Avatar unless you're _alive."_

Aang looked guilty. He looked at his bowl sadly.

"It was the only way. And besides, they'll understand that we have to protect you. You're this world's only hope," Katara said comfortingly. Aang didn't answer her.

"Anyway, since then, we've been traveling west," Sokka said eager to continue his story. He pointed at Chameleon Bay before dragging his finger through Serpent's Pass.

"We crossed through The Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us," Sokka explained.

"So what now?" Aang demanded. He looked weary, tired and slightly…angry?

Sokka opened his mouth to explain but was interrupted by a bustling going on in the lower deck. Katara looked at the stairs and saw a very excited and eager Jin hurrying over towards them, her billowing coat moving about behind her. She said eagerly, "Is it true? Is he really awake?"

Sokka slapped his forehead in frustration. He said peevishly, "Can I ever finish my story?"

Aang stared at Jin with a bit of confusion.

Katara smiled, remembering how Jin was excited about meeting Aang. Katara placed a hand on Aang's arm and said, "There's someone who's been dying to meet you."

* * *

_I know, I know. Jin is very Mary-Sue-ish in this chapter but don't worry. Jin is very far from being a Mary-Sue. I just wanted to go slow with revealing more of her personality. I want her personality to be peeled layer after layer, chapter after chapter. As my fic's summary said, there's a lot more to Jin than meets the eye._

_I won't be writing the full details of the Awakening anymore mostly because if I were to do that, it'd be just like writing exactly what happened in the series._

_Kudos to those who reviewed: Lord Jace, daveshan, SkorpionQueen012 and TheApocalypticTranatula._

_Thanks to those who took their time in reading the story and adding it to their favorites._

_Finally, don't leave me hanging._

_Please Review. _


	13. Part XII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XII_

"I think I see a cave below," Jin murmured from beside Sokka as she tried to lean over Appa's saddle. So far, she could see nothing but the thick mist that Aang was enveloping around Appa but she had caught a glimpse of something gray and rounded from the distance. Jin's first ride on Appa was extremely interesting to say the least. She had stiffly clung onto the side and sat their rigidly, unmoving for many hours on. When they finally descended for rest, Katara had to pry Jin away from the saddle. However, as they continued to travel, Jin had finally eased herself whenever she rode on Appa.

Jin had decided to come with them once the Water tribe and Katara, Toph and Sokka decided to split up. Sokka had tried to deter her, stating that it was much too dangerous for the kind of girl like she was but Jin quickly silenced him after propelling him six feet away with an earth column. Apparently, being referred to as a weak female hit some nerve in Jin's body.

The rest of the Resistance Members like Hai, Guai and Long went with the water tribe, along with Pipsqueak and Duke. Some who no longer wanted to fight, merely dispersed into other regions of the Earth Kingdom.

Jin had been very enthusiastic about meeting Aang. She shook his hand, gave an extremely long speech about how much she admired him and believed in him and once she finished with all that, she gave him a bone-crushing hug. If anything that only seemed to have flustered Aang and put even more pressure on him because he took off the moment Sokka mentioned that everyone thought that he died.

They had found him near a volcano where he started yammering about how he needed to die first. They had told him that they will accompany him (along with Jin who was now officially part of their little group) until the invasion where they were going to meet up with the Water Tribe and the Resistance Members. They still have not heard of any news from Jin's brothers and as one, two, three weeks passed, Sokka's outlook on things were bleak though Jin and Katara maintained an optimistic front.

Sokka huffed from beside her and said, "Shhush... keep quiet! Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud who knows how to keep its mouth shut."

Aang had dispersed the cloud of mist around them and now Sokka could clearly see the cave.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in," Toph sarcastically said as Appa descended unto the ground. Before Appa could make a full stop, Jin lithely leaped down and enthusiastically hurried over to the cave.

"Look! It's over there!"Jin excitedly said. Sokka slapped his forehead and scowled. One of the many things he discovered about Jin was that her enthusiasm and optimism was unparalleled and it was possibly even greater than Katara's—and that was saying something. It seemed to him that nothing ever seems to bother Jin—she always saw something good in the many horrible things that were happening to them.

That was fine once in awhile.

But with her, she took things to the extremes. No one could be that happy or have that much patience. It was as if she was stubbornly ignoring all the bad things in the world.

"Hey! Do any of you get the phrase _"be inconspicuous"_?" Sokka hollered as he got off of Appa.

"I'm not the one yelling loudly for everyone to hear. And besides, there's nobody here Sokka. What's going to happen? Don't tell me that the rocks would report us to the Fire Nation," Jin scoffed.

Sokka quickly scrambled behind a rock and he pointed upward, "Hey! We're in _enemy_ territory. This is _enemy_ soil. Those are _enemy_ birds. These are _enemy_ rocks. "

Everyone laughed at him. Sokka growled. People shouldn't take him for granted especially since he was always right about _everything._

"Go on! Laugh! But if a hunk of rock turns us in to the Fire Nation, then don't go saying that I didn't warn you," Sokka said as everyone started walking towards the cave. Sokka, absolutely unamused, lurked behind them, suddenly leaping over their heads to warn off a completely imaginary threat. Katara backed away, annoyed while Toph scowled indignantly. He hurried over the cave before anyone else, peered suspiciously about before dashing in and beckoning everyone inside.

"Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave..." Sokka said his voice and head dropping lower with each word.

Katara frowned and pointed out, "Sokka, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes."

"Yeah. I learned from someone that having a disguise is definitely as good as hiding in a cave," Jin said as she examined the cave further.

"And who did you learn it from?" Sokka demanded. He meant it as a harmless question but apparently it hit some sort of sensitive spot on Jin since her face withered and she mumbled in an incoherent tone, "Um…er…just a friend…"

Sokka was used to that by now. Sometimes when he would ask a particular question or mention something, Jin would immediately clam up and start diverting the topic. Like that one time he mentioned Zuko's stupid ponytail. Jin suddenly wasn't interested in joining Sokka's extremely fun game of making more jokes about Zuko's ponytail. Or the time that he mentioned how much he loved Jasmine tea. Jin nearly choked on what she was drinking before stalking off to go to sleep—and they hadn't even had their dinner yet. Or that time he asked her about her dad and her life before she came to Ba Sing Se. She looked away into the distance and started talking about rabiroos.

In reality, Sokka and the rest didn't know much about Jin expect that she was from Ba Sing Se and that she led the Resistance. She didn't tell them and truth to be told—Sokka had the feeling that she wouldn't want to tell them anyway if she was given the chance. He didn't think much of it. If she doesn't want to tell any of them, then he didn't want to push it. He wasn't the nosy, prying type so he simply assumed that this was just one of those things that Jin didn't want to talk about.

"Jin's right Sokka. Blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave," Aang said interrupting Jin's mumbles.

"Plus...they have _real_ food out there. Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" Toph said. She pushed the cave's wall and a handful of cave-hoppers sprang up and began to widly move around them.

"Looks like we got out voted, sport," Sokka said miserably to Momo. He sighed and conceded, "Let's get some new clothes."

* * *

They had stolen a few clothes from a clothesline hanging behind one of the houses. Sokka had chosen something loose, baggy and sleeveless, Toph after getting her clothes took some shoes and got rid of the soles, Aang wore something that reminded Sokka of a school uniform while Katara wore something that nearly made Aang's eyes bulge from his sockets.

Jin had taken a top that was halter-like, fastened from the back and a skirt that was slit a little too much in the sides so Jin had to steal a pair of white leggings before putting her clothes on. Unlike Toph's sole-less shoes she decided to go completely barefoot. She began to complain that Fire Nation fabric was too thin the moment everyone had settled.

"I can't believe people here actually where these in broad daylight. Back in the earth Kingdom, these could have passed off as undergarments," she said as she awkwardly walked alongside Toph. She looked as if she hadn't completely adapted to her new clothing.

Toph nodded understandably and said, "I know what you mean. But I guess I'd rather wear these than a regular Earth Kingdom robe in this weather."

She fanned herself with her hand as Katara swatted a fly away.

"I know what you mean. When we started travelling around the Earth Kingdom, I was in a bit of a culture shock once I realized that wearing too much jackets could cause me to hyperventilate in the heat," Katara said as they turned around the corner. They had a reached a bazaar. People were milling in and about and stall vendors advertised their wares.

"I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago. So everyone just follow my lead and stay cool. Or as they say in the Fire Nation - "Stay flamin'"!" Aang said. He began to look excited.

A gentleman passed by them. Aang waved enthusiastically and said, "Greetings my good hotman!"

The man stared at Aang in confusion and said, "Uh, hi. I guess?"

"This reminds me of Market-Market in Ba Sing Se," Jin sadly said. She looked a little distant once again.

"Homesick?" Katara asked as Sokka got attracted to a nearby booth. He tugged at Katara's hand and pointed to a stall selling bracelets and necklaces.

"A little," Jin shrugged as they began to pick some items up.

Sokka bought a clasp for his topknot, Katara bought a new necklace to replace her mother's, Toph bought a headband to keep her hair back while Jin bought a simple headpiece. She had changed her usual hairstyles—which were braids and a ponytail— to mimic the Fire Nation "look." She had pulled her hair into a half-up, with a small topknot holding the upper-half. She fastened the headpiece in place and followed the others as Sokka led the way to a butcher's shop.

Katara walked on fussing with her necklace when she suddenly noticed that Jin was gone. Katara doubled back and saw that Jin was reading something off a bulletin board. She had stiffened and her face had a look of pure horror on her face. Katara became a little worried. She bid everyone to go on without her as Sokka and Aang started getting into an argument about the place where they were going to eat. She hurried over to Jin and saw that her eyes became glassy.

"Hey. You okay?" Katara asked.

Jin looked startled. She blinked at Katara slowly before coming around.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…sure. I'm fine. I'm just um….reading something. Come on. Let's go," Jin said. She gestured for Katara to come with her before moving forward.

But Katara stayed. Jin sighed and stood beside Katara as she stared at the small yellow paper that read,

"People of the Fire Nation

The Avatar is dead

The Walls of Ba Sing Se have fallen

Ba Sing Se has fallen

The Earth Kingdom has fallen

The Resistance that has plagued the city has been destroyed

Their leaders have run in fear

All their kings run

The Fire Nation has won

Hail to Princess Azula, for infiltrating the city in disguise

Hail to Prince Zuko, her most honorable brother who helped her in her cause

Hail to Fire Lord Ozai

Hail to the Fire Nation."

"Oh," Katara said in a small voice.

"It's okay. It's no big deal really," Jin sighed. She forced a smile.

"Don't worry. After the invasion, everything will be alright," Katara said trying to comfort her.

Jin looked away and sighed, sounding unconvinced, "I hope your right."

It was the first time Katara heard her say something that was not so optimistic.

* * *

"People of the Fire Nation

The Avatar is dead

The Walls of Ba Sing Se have fallen

Ba Sing Se has fallen

The Earth Kingdom has fallen

The Resistance that has plagued the city has been destroyed

Their leaders have run in fear

All their kings run

The Fire Nation has won

Hail to Princess Azula, for infiltrating the city in disguise

Hail to Prince Zuko, her most honorable brother who helped her in her cause

Hail to Fire Lord Ozai

Hail to the Fire Nation."

Zuko stared at the piece of paper blankly as he clasped it in his hands. Then after a few minutes of terrible silence, he growled, tore the paper up into little pieces and flung them all into the lamp fire. No doubt about it that Azula had left it there in his room as a way to further torture him. It was all Azula's doing—he was very sure. Azula knew that despite the fact that he was keeping up a very indifferent façade he was still boiling with guilt on the inside.

He started to stomp around the room trying to contain his mixed feelings of anger and resentment. Finally, after his many minutes of cursing and flinging things around, he came to the conclusion that the only way to clear things up was to go to his uncle Iroh and perhaps try to get some advice on how to hash things out.

His impulsive nature took over him once again. He grabbed a hooded cloak and immediately silently stole out of the palace. Halfway through his journey to his uncle's prison cell he started regretting his decision. Maybe this wasn't the best of his ideas. He had been there before but the guard shooed him away. Mixed with the fear that Azula might find out and use it as another tool against him, he decided to do exactly as the guard told him and he left.

Azula scared him more than he liked to admit. He was afraid that one wrong move with her could cause his ruin. His father had welcomed him, stated that he was very proud of Zuko and finally accepted him. But somehow, all his father's words felt empty. It just wasn't as satisfying as he imagined it to be.

As he neared the prisonhold, he changed his mind yet again and forged forward. He wasn't going to let Azula get the best of him. He was so much better and stronger than this. He tried to calm his nerves as he approached the sentry.

"You again? Stop where you are," the guard ordered. He leveled his spear towards Zuko.

Zuko scowled, raised his head and stared back at the guard defiantly. Shock crept up at the guard's features. He said alarmed, "Prince Zuko?"

Zuko then grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against the wall. Azula must not find out about this.

He scowled in a tone of menace, "'I'm going in for a visit. You're gonna stand guard here, and _no one_ is going to know about this."

The guard nodded weakly and with a dramatic whirl of his cloak, he hurried into the prison hold. The prison hold was dark and depressing—its walls were grimy and rats scuttled in and out from everywhere; Zuko had accidentally stepped on one's tail. It was worse than the prison hold in Ba Sing Se and Zuko felt extremely guilty and sorry for his uncle. If he ever came back here, he would bring his uncle a warm comforter and perhaps food that was more substantial. He shuddered as he thought of what they might be feeding him.

As he drew closer to his uncle's prison cell, he was mortified to see that Iroh looked awful. His hair was unkempt, his clothes were reduced to tatters and all that he had for a bed was a very thin, threadbare mat. Zuko had at least hoped that his father would be kinder to his brother.

He hurried to the bars, clutched them and said hoarsely, "Uncle. It's me."

* * *

Katara was like a restless rooster-pig as she paced to and fro from their homey little cave. Aang had not come back for a very long time and she was starting to grow a little worried. Sokka assured her that Aang was probably still in the garbage dumps looking for a head of lettuce while Toph suggested that Aang must be in one of his deep, meditative states and he did not want to be disturbed. Jin tried to calm Katara down by saying that Aang was probably off exploring more of the Fire Nation.

"It's almost dinner! And if he wanted to explore he could've told us!" Katara said as she threw her hands up.

"Katara—''

"He could be captured! He could be tortured! Or worse—he could be dead!" Katara said miserably, shrugging Jin's hands off.

"Would you just relax, Sugar Queen? Twinkletoes is fine," Toph said.

"Yeah. Dinner's almost over and you didn't cook a thing! We had to let Jin poison—I mean _cook_ for us!" Sokka whined as he produced a green-looking goop. It was black and gray at the sides.

"Hey! I did warn you but no….Sokka insisted that he had to have his meat _now_!" Jin shot back.

"I thought you were kidding when you said you were a bad cook! Aren't girls supposed to be good in cooking!" Sokka sighed.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Jin demanded.

"I just mean that girls are good at stuff like cooking and sewing while guys are good at doing activities of manliness like fighting and kindling fires," Sokka said.

"That is so sexist!" Jin declared.

Sokka shrugged, "I'm just stating the facts—''

"Aang!" Katara's loud voice interrupted their bicker.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" she said as she examined Aang further. He was covered in scorch marks everywhere.

He didn't look scared or tired as she expected. He said happily, "I got invited to play with some kids after school."

"After _what_?" Sokka said flummoxed. He completely forgot his argument with Jin.

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school, and I'm going back tomorrow," Aang announced.

"Enrolled in _what_?" Sokka gasped completely horrified.

"You heard me. I'm going to school," Aang happily said.

"B-but—but—''

"Really? What was it like?" Jin asked brightly.

Aang, glad that someone else was enthusiastic over his brand new idea and he began a long narrative of what his day was like while Sokka listened on with a look of plain disapproval on his face. Katara looked interested while Toph seemed bored after the last few seconds.

"Aang, I'm trying to be mature and not immediately shoot down your idea. But it sounds...really _terrible_," Sokka cautiously said as soon as Aang finished.

"Yeah, we got our outfits. What do you need to go to _school_ for?" Toph demanded.

"Every minute I'm in that classroom. I'm learning new things about the fire nation. I already have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai," Aang excitedly said as he displayed a picture of Ozai. Then he produced the same picture made out of noodles and he said, "And here's one that I made out of noodles!"

"Come on Sokka! You have to admit! That is impressive!" Jin declared.

Sokka nodded and agreed, "Impressive, I admit. But I still think it's too dangerous."

"You think _everything_ is dangerous," Jin pointed out.

"I do not!" Sokka argued defensively.

"Just today, you were worried about rocks reporting us to the Fire Nation!" Jin said.

"I'm believe I'm being _cautious. _Something which you could all take a page from," Sokka sniffed.

"You're being overly _suspicious._ Come on, just hear Aang out. He's right. We could learn so much about the Fire Nation," Jin said. Aang beamed at Jin gratefully.

Sokka said, "We could learn stuff about the Fire Nation by….um…"

"By what?"

"Well…"

"See! The best way to learn about the enemy, is from the enemy himself," Jin said triumphantly seeing that Sokka had ran out of things to counter her.

Sokka however shook his head and declared, "My answer is still no. It's too dangerous."

Pulling out his last card, Aang deviously said, "I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then. It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace. We were _supposed_ to learn about it in class tomorrow..."

Sokka paused for a moment. He looked as if he was having an internal debate. He mused, "I am a fan of secret rivers…"

Aang leaned forward and nodded eagerly. Sokka gave everyone a look and said, "And if everyone is alright with it…."

"Whatever makes Aang happy," Katara shrugged.

"If Twinkletoes wants to _learn_, then I guess it's not my problem," Toph said with distaste.

"I'm all for it," Jin smiled.

Sokka sighed and relented, "Fine, let's stay a few more days."

Aang broke out into a large smile and said happily, "Flamey-o, Hotman!"

He quickly ran off somewhere in excitement.

Sokka looked at Jin and said, "See? You want him to stay in school and that's all he's learning? _Flamey-o Hotman?"_

Jin shrugged and scoffed, "_Enemy_ lingo. Very useful once you think about it."

* * *

His uncle did not answer him. Instead he turned around and sat still for a very long time. Zuko growled and spat, "You brought this on yourself, you know. We could have returned together. You could have been a hero."

Iroh said nothing as he turned a shade further away from Zuko.

"You have no right to judge me Uncle. I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se, and you're a fool for not joining me. You're not gonna say _anything_?" Zuko demanded.

Silence.

Enraged and frustrated, he kicked a stool and bent a blast of fire on the wall as he raged, "Ahhrr! You're a crazy old man! You're crazy, and if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!"

And with that Zuko stormed out of the room. He was very stupid thinking he could find some answers, clear things out in here. His uncle was of no help at all. Zuko scowled. He didn't need his uncle. He can take care of things by himself. He continued to stomp away when he paused.

He thought he heard something.

He craned his neck.

After a few minutes of silence Zuko hurried but he shivered.

He thought he had heard the faint sound of someone weeping.

* * *

The School headmaster peered at Sokka through condescending eyes and said in a somewhat confused tone, "Thank you for coming, Mr. And Mrs..."

"Fire! Wang Fire. This is my wife, Sapphire," Sokka answered a little too quickly. Beside him, Jin slapped her head and gave him an "Are you kidding?" look.

Aang had gotten himself into trouble at school and much to their misfortune, the headmaster called for a parent's conference. Sokka was absolutely against the idea but as usual no one listened to him—Jin in particular had campaigned and sided with Aang. She insisted that it would be a fun, learning experience for Aang and it would really help them learn more about the Fire Nation. As always, he was _right _and when Aang declared that someone needed to pose as his parents, being the only male with considerable height and maturity he was forced to play the role of Aang's father. And since Jin was the person who had insisted to go along with this ridiculous charade of letting Aang go to school it was only fitting that _she _played Aang's mother.

And also it was because Katara staunchly refused stating that it was really weird since they were siblings and Toph was a little too young to play his wife (though she didn't seem too bothered at the idea).

They went to the market to buy things that might make them look older. Sokka and Jin argued for long time since Sokka suggested that Jin must wear a fake pregnancy bump. Jin of course, disagreed but after painstakingly explaining to her that it would look more realistic since her face looked too youthful.

"And how about you?" Jin had demanded.

Sokka shrugged, bought wads of fur from a nearby stall and presented them to Jin saying, "I'll ask Katara to make a beard for me."

So as soon as Sokka got his beard and Jin got her pregnancy bump, the two scrambled to the Aang's school pretending to look old and wise and trying to play the part of overbearing parents. As the headmaster stared at them blankly, Sokka suddenly wished that he just insisted that they simply move away from this place and never, ever return.

"Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you," Jin said with an airy politeness. She leaned over and shook the headmaster's hand, her fake, large belling pressing against the table's edge. When she leaned back there was a very prominent looking dent on her belly.

Sokka hastily tried to form it back to its original shape as the headmaster droned on dubiously, "Mr. and Mrs..._Fire_, your son has been enrolled here for two days, and he's already causing problems. He's argued with his history teacher, disrupted music class, and roughed up my star pupil…."

"What are you doing?" Jin hissed as the headmaster continued to enumerate more of Aang's bad behavior.

"Fixing the ginourmous dent that you have put on our child!" Sokka snapped back, gesturing for her to look. Jin's eyes widened and she fumbled her hands trying to desperately make it look round and whole again before the headmaster could notice.

"Sokka, let me do it—''

"No, you're doing it wrong—''

"Let me just—''

"Almost there—''

"The strap is slipping off my back—''

"Then fix it—''

"You're making it worst—''

"Um guys?' Aang prodded.

Sokka and Jin, red-faced realized that the headmaster had stopped his long tirade about Aang's many wrong actions and was looking at them with a critical eye. Sokka quickly took his hands off Jin's fake belly while Jin tried to hide the now, misshapen looking padding by putting her arms over it.

"What—are—you—doing?" he demanded suspiciously.

Sokka gave an over-exaggerated laugh and said nervously, "Oh….I was just….feelin' my wife's belly…..'cause…um we have one spitfire baby living inside it…and I wanted to feel it kick….sort of…heh…heh…heh…"

Apparently the headmaster was not amused and was unconvinced because he gave an annoyed huff and continued to peer at them suspiciously.

"So about Kuzon?" Jin cleared her throat trying to move on. The headmaster looked unready to let their peculiar actuations go but decided that telling the two of them about Aang's horrible behavior was much more entertaining them questioning them further about the fact that they were behaving so oddly.

"As I was saying, he has been one of the worst students I have ever seen. I'm not sure if it has something to do with his upbringing as a colony child—''

"Excuse me?" Jin said looking clearly offended.

"You two are from the colonies, aren't you? And as I've heard, no offense, people there are manner-less slobs—''

Jin's face colored and she said heatedly, "For your information—Ow!"

Sokka kicked Jin's shin from under the table and tried to desperately abate the headmaster's increasingly angry expression.

"Heh…oh, Jin—_I mean Sapphire Fire_, you are such a kidder you," Sokka said as he elbowed Jin.

Jin opened her mouth to argue but Sokka cut her off and said, "She was just fooling around as always headmaster…._sir. _Such a card, she is! I mean we have absolutely nothing against being called manner-less slobs! In fact it's a compliment to us especially if an esteemed member of the fire Nation tells us that!"

Jin didn't look happy. She glared at Sokka, made a loud protest and shot daggers at the headmaster. But Sokka pinched her hard on her arm and Jin was forced to give a very convincing smile and said through gritted teeth, "Yep. We love being called manner-less slobs. I'm just…um…kidding…around…like always"

"It is no wonder Kuzon is such a nuisance. You two have very bad parenting skills! Why you just elbowed your wife when she is pregnant with a child!" he exclaimed to Sokka.

Jin smiled at Sokka smugly and said, "Yeah Sokka—er—Wang…bad parenting skills…"

Sokka huffed.

"Well, headmaster sir, all your reports of Kuzon's behavior doesn't sound like things my son would do!" Sokka declared trying to divert the topic.

"Exactly. My goodness! That doesn't sound like our Kuzon," Jin said, pretending to look shock. Sokka gave her a nod of approval, clearly displaying that she was going into the right direction with their little charade.

The headmaster smiled indulgently and said to Jin, "That's what any mother would say, ma'am."

Then leaned forward, glared at them menacingly and warned, "Nonetheless, you're forewarned. If he acts up one more time, I'll have him sent to reform school... by which I mean the _coal mines_. Are we clear?"

Sokka swallowed thickly while Jin squirmed. The strap that held her pad was slowly slipping and the headmaster's scary gaze was not helping.

After a few moments of silence Sokka said, "Don't you worry, Mr. Headmaster. I'll straighten this boy out somethin' fierce."

He whirled towards Aang and blustered, sending specks of saliva on his face as he yelled, "Young man, as soon as we get home, you're gonna get the punishment of a lifetime!"

The headmaster nodded and said with an air of subdued sadism, "That's what I like to hear."

Jin, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her falling pregnancy pad blurted out, "If that's all headmaster, me and Sok—Wang will be leaving now."

And together with Aang they stood up, gave a low bow (Jin had to put her hands behind her back to keep the pad from falling) and started walking away with Sokka leading them in a confident swagger. They were half-way out the room when the Headmaster piped up, "Oh yes. There is one more thing."

His voice startled Jin so much that she jumped and the fake belly slid from her back down to her knees, Sokka quickly shielded her by whirling around, covering her back and saying nervously, "Yes, headmaster sir?"

"It's Parents-Students Day tomorrow and everyone is expected to attend. We will showcase all their talents and there will be a few contests to bring out their competitiveness. It's also a good chance for you to meet Kuzon's teacher's and speak with them personally," the headmaster said.

"Oh. Sure. We'll go there," Sokka said in a small voice. Behind him, Jin had finally fastened the pregnancy pad back to its proper place.

"Is your wife okay?" the headmaster asked as Jin fumbled around.

Jin faced him and nodded, "Oh yeah I'm fine."

"I expect to see you all there tomorrow," the headmaster said.

Sokka scratched his head and said, "Of course, headmaster. You won't be disappointed but….we really have to go right now…"

"I think I'm about to puke," Jin said pretending to look nauseated.

Once she said that the headmaster practically drove them away from his room.

* * *

Zuko stared at the sunset bleakly on a little plateau at the rim of the Royal Volcano. He was munching on some komodo chicken, his favorite, but even that did not manage to uplift his sour mood. He was thinking about the sunset and how once upon a time he had told Jin that it was one of the most beautiful things in the fire Nation. His chest tightened as he realized with a start that he had promised her a chance to see the sunset.

When he first came there at the suggestion of one of the servants, he had nearly said with excitement, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Jin, I could show—'' and then he remembered that Jin hated him, was on the run and would probably never look at him in the same way again if she ever saw him. He sometimes found himself forgetting that Jin and him were no longer at the best of terms.

And to top it all off his meeting with his uncle did not go as well as he expected. He sighed. It seemed as if everyone in the world hated him right now.

He tore off a piece of the leg miserably as he heard the footsteps of someone approaching.

"What do you want Azula?" Zuko demanded as the person approached and stood by his side.

"Just a word with you," Azula said airily.

Zuko huffed and snapped, "Whatever."

"Did you like the bit of news I sent to your room?" Azula asked mockingly.

"Just tell me what you want!" Zuko's heatedly said as his face reddened.

"So...I hear you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower," Azula said.

Zuko bolted up and said incensed, "That guard told you."

Azula smugly said, "No, you did. Just now."

Zuko scowled and conceded as he sat down, "Okay, you caught me. What is it that you _want_, Azula?"

"Actually, nothing. Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If people find out you've been to see Uncle, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be _careful_, dum-dum," Azula solicitously said.

"And that's it?" Zuko demanded.

"Hardly. I want a wanted poster of that girlfriend of yours and her brother posted all over the Fire Nation. I want her captured by the end of the week. It's not good for our image, with two of the Resistance leaders still running around," Azula said.

Zuko stiffened and Azula took pleasure in seeing her brother's uncomfortable appearance. He uneasily said, "And what do you need me for?"

"I need you to go to the printer's office so you could describe to the portrait-maker how she looks like," Azula said.

"You've seen her," Zuko shortly said.

"But not enough to remember her face in great detail. You on the other hand have probably been glued to her lips for a number of many hours so I assume that you would be better at describing her to the printer's," Azula said.

Zuko's face reddened and flustered, sputtered, "But—''

"Honestly, Zuzu. What I'm asking of you is very simple. Hardly worth the fuss," Azula said.

Zuko looked away and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"If this is about_ her_ again, you might as well forget it. She's just a peasant Zuko. An annoying thorn in the Fire Nation's side," Azula said.

"Azula…do we really need to get her a wanted poster. I mean…"

Azula sighed and said idly, "If you don't want anyone to doubt your loyalty, I want her wanted poster and her brothers' by my bed by the end of the week."

"Yeah…sure. I'll get it done," Zuko wearily conceded. He stared at Azula resentfully.

Azula sighed and said, "Don't be like that Zuko. I'm just looking out for you."

"Well, thanks," Zuko muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Azula said through gritted teeth.

"If that's all you wanted to say then you can leave," Zuko peevishly snapped.

"There's one more thing," Azula said.

Zuko exhaled loudly.

"One of the many Fire Nation academies has some sort of party or pageant or whatever tomorrow and they asked for any one of us to come to give a speech about becoming successful and growing up to be good Fire Nation citizens," Azula began.

"And?"

"I already sent them a letter that _you'll_ be going to give the speech," Azula said as she turned away from him to leave.

Zuko scowled and said, "Why can't you do it?"

Azula flicked one of her side bangs and said with a malicious smile before leaving, "Oh, you know how much I hate children. I don't have the patience to level with them. And besides—I don't think I'm the right person to give a talk about growing up _good_."

* * *

"That settles it. No more school for you young man!" Sokka ranted at Aang.

They had come back to the cave after the parent's conference and Sokka discovered that he and Jin must look silly with his falling beard and Jin's slipping pregnancy pad since Toph broke out into loud laughter once she saw them. Once Sokka commissioned Katara to fix his beard and when he got it back fully on his face he then proceeded to give a long tirade to Aang about the dangers of school and why he must never go back.

When he finished with his rant, he straightened up and stroked his beard imperiously as Aang frowned at him.

"I'm not ready to leave. I'm having fun for once, just being a normal kid. You don't know what it's like, Sokka. You get to be normal all the time," Aang said.

"Ha ha!" Toph mockingly laughed.

Sokka scowled in annoyance.

Nobody ever shows him appreciation or realizes that he is always right.

"Aang's right Sokka," Jin piped up.

Sokka dropped his jaw and stared at her disbelievingly, "I can't believe you're still agreeing with him! You almost pulled a _miscarriage_ in front of the headmaster!"

Jin rolled her eyes and said, "You're exaggerating—''

"I'm not!"

"First of all, I'm agreeing with Aang about _not sticking around for awhile._ We can't just leave suddenly. It would look too weird and people might start asking questions. Do you have any idea how straight-laced their truant officers are?" Jin sniffed.

Katara nodded, "Jin does have a point. If Aang suddenly disappeared, it would surely raise a lot of questions."

After much consideration Sokka conceded as he stroked his beard, "You are right."

"So what do we do?" Toph asked.

Jin explained matter-of-factly, "I think that we should attend the parents-students day tomorrow, tell the headmaster and maybe some of Aang's teachers that we have to leave because of an emergency—''

"You can tell them that it's because Sokka has fungi growing in his toes and it needs to be treated," Toph snickered.

"Gross," Katara whispered. Sokka huffed at Toph.

"—then we'll leave. Simple as that," Jin said. Aang looked disappointed.

"I like it. It's simple and effective. And the best part is I can still wear my beard for one more night," Sokka said. He finally looked satisfied.

Aang still didn't look ready to give up of his idea to go to school. He keeled on forward, "Listen, guys, those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we wanna change this place for the better, we need to show them a little taste of freedom."

Sokka sighed and tiredly said, "Aang, we're going to save them from their really, _really_ evil leader. What more could they ask for? And besides what could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?"

Aang beamed and said, "I'm gonna throw them—'' he did a quick tap dance, "—a secret dance party!"

Sokka and everyone else in the room could barely reel themselves from their shock. They stared at Aang, absolutely stunned.

Finally, Sokka was the first to react. He declared, "Go to your room!"

* * *

Sokka was very nervous of the Parents-Students Day. He had taken extra time in fixing his beard, much to Katara's chagrin (since she was made to brush it a hundred times) and he forcefully demanded that Jin tied her hair in a bun and kept her side bangs in place since he wanted to present to everyone a "trophy wife". That met with Jin's subsequent disapproval and after stubbornly disagreeing for the hundredth time, Sokka let her keep her side bangs though he managed to convince her to tie her hair in a bun. Once he deemed himself, Aang and Jin presentable enough to everyone else, he beckoned them to step outside.

"Finally," Jin muttered.

"Hey! I'm just trying to give everyone a good first impression! You don't want people thinking that we're manner-less slobs do you?" Sokka demanded as they climbed unto Aapa.

"Sokka, we'll be there for a few minutes. Just enough time for us to tell everyone that we're leaving," Jin said exasperated.

"Don't forget I still have to invite my friends to the dance party," Aang reminded as he signaled Appa to ascend.

"We are not having a dance party!" Sokka scowled.

"Come on Sokka!" Aang whined.

"What part of being 'discreet' do _any_ of you not understand?" Sokka demanded as they rose into the air. They waved goodbye to the slowly, growing tiny figures of Toph and Katara as they rose higher.

"I'm not the one who wants to stay in the stupid Parents-Students Day for forever," Jin said.

"I'm just looking at all the possibilities," Sokka sniffed.

"And by possibilities you mean the ten-course dinner that's going to be served," Jin said as she rolled her eyes.

"Sokka, can you please just give my dance party a chance?" Aang pleaded.

"No! Absolutely not," Sokka said.

"But—''

"I'm just trying to make sure that we won't get discovered—''

"You are being so paranoid—''

"Am not—''

Their debate and argument continued until they reached within a few meters length away from their destination. They landed behind a glade of trees, got off Appa and Aang instructed Appa to go wherever he wanted (provided he hides) but he must come back once Aang had blown his Bison whistle. The three of them then made their way to the school courtyard where it was held.

Before Jin could make a step forward Sokka suddenly bounded in front of her and said wildly, "Okay everyone, its showtime! Try to act cool!"

Jin sighed and said patiently, "I told you that we won't be there for long. Just enough time to tell people we're leaving."

"And also enough time to invite my friends," Aang piped up.

Sokka ignored both of them and said to Jin, "Did you tighten your pregnancy pad?"

Jin rolled her eyes and said, "Yes—''

"Does my beard look okay?"

Jin said, "Yes, it looks nice—''

"Do you think that I need to brush my beard some more?"

"No, it looks fine—''

"Does my beard go with my outfit?"

Jin sighed, "Sokka—''

"Give me an honest answer," Sokka said.

Jin exasperatedly, "Look, Sokka—''

"Guys, we're here!" Aang excitedly said.

Jin and Sokka immediately straightened up as they approached the courtyard. It was brightly decorated with red and gold streamers. The ten-course buffet which included flaming kebabs, spicy chicken soup and grilled pepper-steak, sat at the left side while tables and chairs were neatly arranged at the right. A small podium was raised at the front while a golden-red paper dragon hung in one of the walls. It seemed as if a program was going on because their was a host who was introducing a performer coming up on stage. Children played various instruments on the podium.

When some of Aang's friends and their parents started approaching them, Sokka worriedly rubbed his beard and whispered to Jin, "Is my beard still okay?"

"It looks fine, Sokka," Jin whispered as Aang's friend drew closer.

"Jin, Sokka—er, I mean _mom, dad_, I'd like you to meet Shoji," Aang said, catching himself once he realized his mistake.

Sokka, with another imperious stroke of his beard said, "It's nice to meet you Shoji."

Then like any regular parent, he completely ignored Shoji and faced his parents instead. Shoji was a small, reedy, bright-eyed boy and if anything his parents were exactly the same. His mother was papery thin with big, moony eyes while his father was like a hawk. Thin and angular with his elbows sticking.

"Pleased to meet you Shoji's mother and father. I'm Mr. Fire. Wang fire. And this is my wife, Sapphire," Sokka said as he shook each of their hands and gestured to Jin.

Jin smiled politely, bent towards them, and shook their hands saying, "Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you."

"We're Shoji's parents. You Jin and Hyu Suk," the father—Hyu Suk—said politely.

Aang and Shoji had run off to meet up with their other friends leaving Jin and Sokka alone with You Jin and Hyu Suk in uncomfortable silence. Sokka continued to stroke his beard while Jin nervously drummed at her fake protruding belly.

"My, your belly has grown quite largely! How far along are you?" You Jin said, finally breaking the silence.

"Seven—''

"Five—''

Sokka and Jin said at the same time. They gulped once they realized that the couple was staring at them oddly.

Sokka quickly tried to fix the damage. He said, "What Sapphire Fire means is she's seven _years _and five _months_—''

Upon seeing their confused looks, Jin elbowed Sokka and said, "Oh…Wang, you are such a kidder! He means that I'm seven _months_ and five _weeks_ pregnant."

"Oh. Yes. Of course!" Sokka said.

"He gets lost in his head sometimes," Jin said trying to be charming as Shoji's parents continued to stare at them in confusion.

"Oh. Okay," Hyu Suk stiffly said as he continued to peer at them with a look of confusion.

"If I may, may I touch your stomach?" You Jin said, as her hand drew closer to Jin's belly.

Before Jin could react, her hand was on her fake pregnancy pad. You Jin frowned and said, "That's strange. I can't feel a thing. You have one quiet baby in there."

Jin quickly drew back, as if scalded. She nervously said, "Um….he likes to kick only…when he's um…"

"Only when he's eaten something! So if you excuse us, we'll be at the buffet," Sokka declared loudly. He grabbed Jin's arm, steered her towards the buffet where Aang was busy talking with a young girl who was about his age (when you minus the one hundred). She was slim and pretty with long black hair tied into a ponytail and hazel-gold eyes.

"Kuzon! There you are! Young man we've been looking all over for you!" Sokka said, coming in between Aang and the girl.

Aang, slightly annoyed to be interrupted but unfazed brightly said, "Hi Sokk—dad! Onji, I'd like you to meet my dad and mom!"

The girl, Onji, gave a low bow and said, "I'd introduce you to my parents but they're off somewhere. Pleased to meet you sir, ma'am."

Sokka's mouth suddenly formed into a devious smile. He grabbed Jin's elbow, whispered something to her before turning to look back at Aang and Onji.

"Why, Kuzon! You didn't tell me that you have a girlfriend!" Jin said in mock surprise.

With realization at what Sokka and Jin were planning on doing Aang blushed and protested, 'She's not my—''

"Young man, if I find out if this is the reason why you've been getting low grades I swear I'll lock you up in your room for a month!" Sokka said though his angry rant was ruined by the fact that he kept on chuckling in between.

Aang huffed and said, "Guys!"

"But you're very lovely dear," Jin said in between giggles.

"Yes. Do you know that he knows how to get girls from _me?_ I suppose he inherited my charm," Sokka snickered.

"If you had any," Jin added. Sokka glared at her.

"You guys are embarrassing," Aang sighed.

But Onji merely smiled and said, "No, they're fine. Really. Your parents are really funny. You didn't tell me that you were having a new sibling."

She gestured at Jin's swollen belly.

"Oh. I didn't?" Aang nervously said.

Sensing everyone's anxiety, Jin quickly cut in, "So Kuzon, did you tell Onji about us leaving?"

Onji nodded and said sadly, "Yeah. It's so sad since I only had a few days to get to know Kuzon. But I'm really sorry about your toe, Mr. Fire."

Sokka growled while Jin nodded pretending to look sad. She said, "Yes. My husband's toe is a great tragedy. You know, I've told him many times not goes running around in a mud full of dangerous looking fungi but he wouldn't listen."

Sokka elbowed Jin, stroked his beard and said, "It was very therapeutic."

"But I'm very glad that I get to see Kuzon one more time. Thanks for letting us have the dance party," Onji brightly said.

Sokka's jaw dropped and it took him several minutes to react. Finally he muttered wildly, "But…I didn't….I said….wait…"

Then he recovered and hollered at Aang's face, "Go to your room!"

That caused quite a few stares so Jin, mightily embarrassed, dragged Sokka away from Aang and Onji and tried to calm him down. Once Jin calm Sokka down, for the remainder of the day, they pigged out in the buffet table. After weeks of eating nothing but rice gruel mixed with some nuts, the ten-course buffet was heaven. Jin heaped mounds on her plate while Sokka made several rounds back to the buffet table. They met a few other parents and teachers and they made a point to tell each and every one of them that they were leaving because of Sokka's fungi-infested toe while people continued to present on the podium.

So far they managed to keep up their little pretense of being Aang's parents without a hitch except perhaps for that one time they chatting with the headmaster and a woman named Yani.

"Say, you two look quite young to be parents. How old are you again?" Yani asked as soon as Jin finished telling another embarrassing story about Sokka's fake fungi.

"Twenty-nine—''

"Thirty-three—''

Jin and Sokka blurted out at the same time. They looked at each other and slapped their foreheads.

Yani and the headmaster's jaw dropped.

"Actually I'm twenty-nine," Jin muttered.

"And I am Thrity-three. Sort of," Sokka declared nervously.

"Kuzon's about twelve years old so Sapphire had him when she was…when she was…" the headmaster trailed off in disbelief.

"That's right. We got married at…..when I was um…." Sokka tried to calculate in his head.

"…when I was twenty-five—''

"Twenty-one," Jin corrected.

"Twenty-one and Jin—_Sapphire_ was seventeen," Sokka finished.

Jin and Sokka decided to leave once the headmaster and Yani started flooding them with really difficult questions like how they met or what attracted them to each other.

"Twenty-nine? Really, Jin?" Sokka hissed as he grabbed a spicy shrimp.

"What did you want me to say? That I was forty?" Jin demanded.

"You had my beard to go by! I thought that that itself meant that I was beyond my twenties!" Sokka said.

They didn't engaged themselves in any more conversations after that incident and instead they camped out at the buffet table.

Sokka was in the middle of eating some peppered ribs when suddenly trumpets, blared, a commotion stirred and everyone suddenly started gathering around the back.

"What's going on?" Jin curiously asked a passer-by who was sprinting towards everyone else.

The passer-by looked at her as if she was stupid before saying, "Didn't you know? Prince Zuko has agreed to give a speech at this school."

* * *

Zuko rubbed his temples as Taoyuan droned on and on with compliments of how Zuko was so great and how he had never thought he shamed himself during the Agni Kai. He sighed in annoyance. He really wasn't the mood to give speeches right now. He still had to go to the printer's after this and he really didn't like making a wanted poster for Jin.

Taoyuan was one of the few noble people he hated. He was a social climber who shoved every single one of his daughters in Zuko's face in the hopes he'll marry one of them and make her a Fire Lady. He was also one of the many people who took pleasure in seeing him being shamed and burned at his Agni Kai with his father.

"….and as I was saying your highness…" Taoyuan continued.

Zuko nodded politely, bidding for the perfect time before he could make his escape. When he started talking about setting Zuko up with his middle child, Zuko hastily excused himself stating that he wanted a drink of water. He stepped back and scrambled over to the end of the buffet table where some lemongrass juice sat. Zuko poured a few into his glass when suddenly he saw someone that made his heart stop. He nearly spilled his drink.

Zuko blinked his eyes, hardly daring to believe.

He saw Jin.

And the rest that he had seen nearly gave him a heart attack.

She was pregnant!

Zuko could barely register any of this and a slew of suspicions started bubbling within him. They broke up for a few weeks and she was already pregnant? He started feeling angry when rationalization took over him. She can't be pregnant. Her belly looked as if she nearly eight months into her pregnancy and as far as he was concerned, she didn't look pregnant when they were dating. She must be faking it, he concluded.

Thinking about her, he suddenly started remembering little things about Jin. Things that made him miss her even more.

He caught a mere glimpse of her before she disappeared around the corner. Trailing behind her was that Water-Tribe Boy and plastered on his face was a ridiculous looking beard. Zuko's mind started whirring a mile a minute. It couldn't be a coincidence that all of them were gathering here in disguises.

The Avatar was here.

Zuko stiffened.

That only re-inforced his fear that the Avatar is alive.

Zuko made a move to follow them when the headmaster grabbed his hand and said, "Your Highness, you must start your speech."

In a daze, Zuko followed the headmaster up to the podium. WhiZuko spoke, he felt as if he wasn't really there. He was anxious of the possibility that the Avatar might be alive and he would look very foolish once everyone found out about that. He had to fix this. And why was Jin here? And why was she pretending to be pregnant? The image of her pretty face was suddenly vivid in his mind. Zuko decided that once he finished with his speech he would go to the printer's immediately considering he was now hyper-aware of every little detail of Jin's face.

"And furthermore, honor is a thing that cannot be bought, borrowed, replaced, stolen—''

He paused abruptly.

He saw the Avatar. He was wearing the school uniform like everyone else. He clenched his fists in panic.

"Your highness?" the headmaster prompted.

That Water-Tribe boy followed. Zuko breathed in sharply.

"You highness?" the headmaster said a little more impatiently this time.

And the last figure to leave was Jin. She had taken her fake, pregnant belly off and was sprinting after the Avatar and the Water-Tribe boy. Zuko's chest tightened.

Before she left, she turned to look at him and their eyes met. Zuko's heart stopped.

Zuko saw nothing but pure, unimaginable sadness.

* * *

"I can't believe we're having a dance party. It seems so... silly," Sokka grumped as he arranged the candles. From behind him, Toph was earthbending a mini bandstand while Katara busied herself with preparing the refreshments. Jin had gone off for some air or something. After they saw Prince Jerkface and heard a part of his extremely lame speech, Jin had been acting weird and funny on their way back to the cave. She looked as if she was deep in thought and she had completely detached herself from the conversation.

"Don't think of it as a dance party, but as a cultural event celebrating the art of fancy footwork," Aang said as he gave a little demonstration. Jin suddenly showed up from the front looking weary and tired but she was smiling nonetheless. She had taken off her pregnant belly and her hair was once again in a loose half-up.

"Let's get this part started," Jin whooped much to Sokka's chagrin. She earthbent as small table top as Katara bent down to place the bowl of juice she made.

It seemed as if she felt better again because she was now earthbending tables and chairs with much more zest.

"This is a bad idea," Sokka mumbled as he lit the last of the candles. Aang was very insistent of his party idea on the way back to the cave and since he had already invited everyone, Sokka was forced to agree. The cave looked very nice and homey (Sokka attributed it all to his mad decorating skills) and Katara had done a good job of stocking every table with goodies.

Suddenly, Toph craned her ear, jerked her head upwards and said, "They're coming! Everyone stop bending!"

Jin froze and stopped bending tables and chairs while Katara made the finishing touches of the last bowl of drinks. Aang prodded Appa to wait in the back and Sokka continued to grumpily mutter under his breath.

Soon, kids started trickling in. A few went to the platform and started playing instruments while many wandered off to the sides looking confused or awkward or unsure of what they were supposed to do. Jin, Katara, Toph and Sokka started entertaining everyone.

Finally, once Aang was sure that everyone had arrived he strode in front of the platform and said exultantly, "Ladies and gentlemen, The Flamey-os! Yeah, this ought to get everybody moving."

* * *

Zuko gently pushed the packet of komodo-chicken through his uncle's cell and said hoarsely, "I brought you some komodo-chicken. I know you don't care for it, but I figure it beats prison food."

His uncle didn't answer him or even acknowledge Zuko's effort at a kind gesture. Zuko sighed, frustrated.

He had come here at another effort to get things sorted out. He knew that he should have gone to the printer's but his heart was racing. The Avatar was alive. If someone else found out, it would lead to another bout of shame and mockery on his part considering the fact that Azula told everyone that he had killed the Avatar.

He clenched the bars and said, "I admit it. I have everything I always wanted, but it's not at all how I thought it would be. The truth is, I need your advice."

Iroh didn't stir.

"The Avatar is still alive. I know he's out there. I _saw_ him uncle. With my own two eyes. I'm losing my mind," Zuko said.

Silence.

Zuko desperately screeched, "Please, Uncle, I'm so confused! I need your help."

Iroh remained motionless as Zuko boiled with rage. Zuko scowled angrily before snapping, "Forget it! I'll solve this myself! Waste away in here for all I care!"

And with that he whirled around to leave but not before pausing to look at his uncle one more time, hoping that he would say something.

He didn't.

Zuko gave an angry cry before slamming the door before him.

* * *

"And this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se," Jin explained to a couple of Aang's friends.

The dance party was in full swing. Aang had successfully managed to get everyone at their feet and he was now off dancing with Onji. Jin, who could not resist a good dance took it upon herself to educate the children in all the dances she knew back in the Earth kingdom. The two followed her as she made an undulating motion across her chest. Finally, when they both got the hang of it, Jin decided to try another attempt at getting Katara to dance.

Katara, Toph and Sokka were seated at one table by themselves. Jin had tried to convince them to dance without much success. She hoped she would be more successful in this try. She approached their table.

"Come on Katara," Jin smiled.

Katara sighed loudly and said, "I don't know how to dance."

"I'm sure that's not true," Jin smiled.

She mumbled something incomprehensible and her vision began to trail off to where Aang was busily dancing with Onji. Jin, who understood her jealous gaze, slyly commented, "Wow, they look pretty good together."

"Eh, if that's what you like," Katara dismissively said as she looked away.

"How about you, Toph? Wanna dance?" Jin asked.

Toph looked as if she considering it for the moment before finally saying, "Maybe later, Smiley. When it comes to stuff like these, I have two left feet."

Sokka yawned, stretched his arms and said, "I'd dance but I'm still standing by my belief that this dance party is _silly_."

"Aw….you can't dance can you?" Jin snickered.

"I can too! I'm just on a dancing strike!" Sokka snapped.

"Dancing strike?" Jin giggled.

"Just you wait. As always, I'm going to be right," Sokka said.

Suddenly Aang came up from beside Jin and offered to dance with Katara. Katara looked unsure but after much prodding from Aang she finally got off her feet and danced with him. Things were going along fine when the loud voice of the headmaster finally echoed through the cave, "He's the one we want. The boy with the headband!"

"Uh-oh," Aang said as the truant officer made a beeline towards him. Aang ducked and melted with the crowd.

"See? I don't want to say it, but I'll say it anyway:…._I told you so!_" Sokka said as he immediately scrambled to the back of the cave. Jin, Katara and Toph followed after him and together they pushed their way through the crowd. All around them, people started putting their headbands on. Finally, when they reached at the back where Appa waited, everyone climbed on top of him and Aang signaled Appa to go up.

Once that they were safely ensconced on Appa's back at a good distance Katara breathed, "That was close."

Sokka stroked his beard and said, "I don't want to say it but—''

"We know what you're going to say, Sokka. And why are you still wearing your beard? We're safe now," Jin told him.

"Oh, no, I can't. It's permanently glued to my skin," Sokka said smugly as he stroked his beard.

"Way to go, Dancypants. I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free," Toph said.

"Yeah. That was some moves you pulled out there," Jin smiled.

Toph gave Jin a light punch on her arm before saying, "Speak for yourself, Smiley. You were pulling out great moves too."

Jin pretended to blush.

"Still you have to admit Sokka, that the dance party, really made an impact on their lives," Katara said.

Sokka stroked his beard and said, "Well…I guess you're right. Even though it was incredibly dangerous by having an illegal dance party Aang, you taught them how to be…_free._"

Aang shrugged and said, "I don't know. It was just a dance party, that's all."

Katara smiled and said, "Well, that was some dance party, Aang."

She leaned forward and kissed him as Jin gave silent snickers. From his place in the pommel, Sokka lazily rocked back and forth and clapped his hands slowly like a beatnik in a trance saying, "Flamey-o, sir. Flame-ee-o."

* * *

Zuko reluctantly stepped through the industrial quarter of the Fire Nation. It was a miserable place—seedy and grimy with the air smelling like smoke. Only those people with questionable agendas hung out there. Zuko felt a little uncomfortable as he heard the distinct sounds of metal boots coming towards him. He drew his hood over his face closer.

"You're sure you weren't followed?" he demanded to the towering figure in front of him. He didn't want Azula to know.

He shook his head.

"I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do. And even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar's alive. I want you to find him," Zuko ordered.

The figure silently moved his head in understanding.

"And end him," Zuko said the last part a little uncertainly. They stood their across each other in total silence.

The figure didn't move as if knowing that Zuko had something else to say. Finally, after squaring his shoulders, Zuko said in a thin voice, "There might be a girl with him. She's about my height, slim with slightly messy black hair and big, hazel-green doe eyes….she's very beautiful…"

Zuko's fist balled up as he continued his description. He faltered and the figure silently nodded.

In a firmer voice Zuko said, "I don't want you touch a hair nor hide of her."

The figure wordlessly stared at Zuko, his eyes clearly saying that he couldn't keep that promise.

Zuko growled and said in a dangerously low voice, "If you so much as even touch a hair on her head, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and I will personally _kill_ you."

* * *

_One more chapter down! Whew! Since everyone had a new hairstyle (except for Toph maybe)-Sokka's shaved sides were gone, Katara let her hair loose, Zuko's hair is longer and Aang's got a head-full of hair-I'm thinking Jin deserves a new look too. If you can't picture the outfit I described her in, it looks a little like the one miragecat123 drew in deviantART minus all the jewelry and her midriff can be seen.  
_

_Special thanks to dgraymanfan 200, daveshan, SkorpionQueen012, ArrayePL, Alana C. Jones (for both reviews on both chapters :)) and last but not the least, StaminaRose._

_Thanks to those who faved this and read this._

_Don't leave me hanging._

_Keep reviewing._


	14. Part XIII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XIII_

"So, Aang, now that we are away from any bodily harm, how's that secret river coming along?" Sokka asked as he leaned against the cave wall and lazed about. Katara was preparing some breakfast while Toph had started her day by practicing some Earthbending moves outside. Jin was sitting by Katara's side, trying to unsuccessfully learn how to cook but apparently she was having very little success with it since when Katara told her to watch over the rice porridge while she went to get some nuts, Jin had managed to turn into a lumpy and gray mixture. The night before, it was almost midnight when they landed. They had continued walking trying to find a safe place to hide when they saw a cave and decided to camp there for the night. Sokka seemed to have momentarily forgotten about his relentless search for more Fire Nation data since he immediately slept the moment he found a cozy corner and claimed it as his own.

But this morning however, it seemed as if he had finally remembered.

Aang looked at Sokka from his place in the cave where he was playing with a small ant and said a little nervously, "Um…I learned how to make a portrait of Ozai with noodles—''

"Yes, Aang we are fully aware of your noodle-portrait-making skills. But that's not exactly what I'm looking for. Now, the secret river please?" Sokka demanded.

"Oh…the secret river. Right," Aang mumbled.

"_Right._ Do go on," Sokka continued.

"Um…I'm sure it's in here…somewhere…in my mind…..just have to find it…heh….erm…" Aang said. He looked away from Sokka's narrowed eyes Sokka glared at him suspiciously.

"Aang?"

"Yes?"

"You have no idea where the secret river is, do you?" Sokka demanded. His voice sounded calm, but knowing Sokka—that was highly uncharacteristic of him. If anything, it only made Aang feel more scared.

Aang started to fiddle with his sleeve as he said, "Well….I might've slept—er…I mean I might have been talking with Shoji when the secret river thing came up…."

Sokka's face turned purple as he sputtered, "You….but…..you were supposed to…..you mean you didn't….but….what…."

"Young man, go to your room!" Sokka hollered, forgetting for a moment that he was no longer posing as Aang's father.

"Breakfast!" Katara cheerfully chirped, interrupting the rant that was building up inside of Sokka. She each gave everyone a bowl. Sokka's anger was momentarily dissipated once he received the bowl but it returned just as quickly once he realized that it was nothing more than a weird, gray, pasty lump.

"What is this supposed to be?" he demanded as he poked it with his finger.

"Breakfast," Katara said simply. Jin, who was sitting next to Katara, suddenly looked guilty.

"This isn't breakfast!" Sokka declared.

"Yeah. It tastes a bit like cement," Toph cringed as she entered the cave, sat down with everyone else and forced herself to chew the rice porridge down.

"There could be only explanation as to why our breakfast tastes like garbage—'' Sokka darkly said.

Jin opened her mouth and protested, "Hey, it's not—''

"—you made it didn't you?" he said, turning to look at Jin.

"I only watched it for a few seconds. Only long enough for Katara to get the nuts," Jin miserably said, for once not arguing with Sokka.

"Katara how many times have I told you to never let Jin near our food?" Sokka hollered.

"It's not that bad. And besides she's _learning,_ Sokka. And that's the most important thing," Katara said as she took one excruciating bite of the rice porridge.

"Learning? _Learning?_ Everyone is always _learning _but nothing ever comes out of it! You know what? I think that we should just stop _learning _for awhile! _Learning sucks!"_ Sokka ranted as he began to stab at his rice porridge with his chopsticks. A few grains of rice began to fly around.

"What's wrong with him?" Toph asked as she jerked her thumb at Sokka. She had completely given up on her porridge and was now making small shapes with the rock she was holding.

"Sokka's just mad that I forgot about the um….secret river," Aang sheepishly said.

"The secret river which he was supposed to _learn,"_ Sokka grumped. The bad breakfast had apparently worsened his mood.

"Sokka, Aang did all that he could," Katara said, quickly defending Aang.

"Don't worry Aang, he's just in a bad mood," Jin told Aang. She then faced Sokka and said, "You shouldn't be taking out my bad cooking on Aang!"

Sokka huffed.

"I'm just sick of everyone dilly-dallying and _learning—'' _he made quotation marks in the air "—when we should be focusing all our energy on knowing more about the Fire Nation in preparation for the invasion! Do you know how close it is? Aang was supposed to go to school to spy on the enemy!"

In her place Toph had discarded her rice porridge behind a misshapen rock.

Jin frowned and said, "Is it really that bad?"

"When you get past the fact that it's like cement, it tastes fine," Toph quipped.

"It tasted better than the last time," Katara offered.

Sokka scowled, silencing the conversation. He said, "Look, Aang has obviously_ learned_ _nothing _while he was in school so—''

"Hey! That's not true Sokka! I learned lots of things! I bet you didn't know that Fire Lord Ozai's favorite food is peppered steak with extra chili?" Aang defensively said.

Sokka paused and momentarily forgot his heated tirade and said in awe, _"Really?"_

"Yeah. And when you get past the fact that he loves to burn people alive, he is very artistic! My teacher once showed me a portrait of a turtle-duck pond that he painted himself," Aang continued, hoping to keep Sokka's impressed expression.

"That is very interesting," Sokka murmured, now completely distracted from what he was supposed to say. In their places, Toph, Katara and Jin stared at the pair's exchange, absolutely amused.

"And get this…..he's partial to the kuai ball team—the Flaming Rabiroos," Aang continued.

Sokka rubbed his chin and said, "No kidding? The Flaming Rabiroos huh? I've heard of them one—hey, _wait!"_

Sokka snapped back into focus, broken from his short fascination with Aang's enumerations. Aang's face fell while Toph snickered.

"I do admit that all that stuff is interesting. But they're not very useful! I mean honestly, what do we get out of knowing about the Fire Lord's favorite Kuai Ball team?" Sokka demanded.

Aang, in a weak voice, said, "First of all Sokka, he's just _partial _to them—''

"And anyway, we need real intel—_intel_ you were supposed to get while you were in school," Sokka continued.

"I gathered great intel! I memorized the Fire Nation oath!" Aang defensively said.

"That's really useful Aang. Now, we have all the information we could need to defeat the Fire Nation," Sokka sarcastically said.

"Sokka, Aang learned lots of great stuff for us!" Katara said, rising to defend Aang again. She stomped towards her brother and said in a voice that Toph had labeled with great pleasure as the "nagging voice", "You're just very unappreciative of his efforts, _as usual!"_

"I'm just trying to make a point! We're in enemy territory and so far, we know _nothing!_" Sokka huffed.

Aang looked at Katara and said, "Katara, you don't really need to…"

"I'm just trying to help you Aang!" Katara said.

"Well, I don't need your help," Aang sighed. He meant it as a passing comment (since he was really tired of Katara's interfering nature) but Katara took great offense in it.

"Excuse me for just trying to defend you!" Katara spat.

"I don't need you to defend me _all the time_!" Aang argued.

Katara's face pinched and she said snippily, "I'm just trying to stop you from being a push-over—''

"I'm not—''

"And also, you shouldn't treat Aang like this Sokka—''

"Katara, it's no big deal. I mean I was supposed to—''

"Aang, I'm just trying to—''

"Well I hate _learning!"_ Sokka declared.

"Will everybody just shut up? I already have to eat _this_, I don't need you guys to be yelling at the top of your lungs! It's early in the morning! Yeesh!" Toph bellowed, her irritation manifesting as she sent small tremors across the ground. Everyone seemed to have been a bad mood that particular morning.

Jin jolted from her seat and sheepishly stared at the dish she has prepared. In what seemed to be a guilty effort to fix her _unpalatable_ rice porridge (and also to cool everyone down) she quickly said, "You know maybe we should go to the market today. We'll all get some noodles. All on me."

That got enough of Sokka's attention to make him forget about his cranky comments. He broke into a big smile and said, "Noodles?"

"Yeah. I guess it's only fair since I ruined everyone's breakfast," Jin sighed as she stared forlornly at the bowl of lump, gray rice porridge.

"Sokka, I don't know about this. I mean shouldn't we be trying to make ourselves inconspicuous?" Katara said, forgetting her angry demeanor. She jerked her head towards Aang.

"Katara, it's just _noodles._ And besides this is a great opportunity for us to check the Fire Nation out," Sokka said. He stood up, resolved and ready to go. Katara uncertainly started preparing herself, while Aang glad to have successfully gotten out of what would have been a potentially, really bad argument, eagerly wrapped his belt around his head. Jin hurried over to where she had kept her belongings and emptied what little money she had left into her pockets while Toph dusted herself off.

The morning was still cool and the sun hung low in the sky. Sokka eagerly led the way, excited at the prospect of a bowl of hot noodles while Jin and Katara hung in the back. Jin was trying to desperately figure out what she did wrong.

"I stirred it clockwise, exactly as you told me," Jin muttered as she rubbed her head.

"Things like these just needs practice," Katara said trying to soothe Jin.

"Just admit it. I'm a horrible cook," Jin grumbled.

"I'm sure that that's not true," Katara said.

"I couldn't cook to save my life," Jin sighed.

"Look, as long as you're treating me to noodles, then I don't see any problem. And 'sides, we're not only going to the market to get some real breakfast. We're going to see on a really important mission on collecting super top secret, important Fire Nation intel," Sokka said as his eyes darted from side to side suspiciously.

"Sokka, we're going to the market to get some noodles," Katara wearily sighed.

"We're going to the market to _gather information_ on the Fire Nation," Sokka corrected.

"And to get some noodles," Toph added.

"Sokka, when we get to the market would you please tone it down a little bit?" Aang pleaded as they turned around a corner. There was a small dirt path that winded towards the north and they could hear vague sounds of people yelling loudly and small children wailing.

"Tone what down?" Sokka cluelessly asked.

"Tone all _that,"_ Toph said as she gave Sokka a light jab in the arm with her elbow.

"What are you saying?" Sokka said.

Aang held his hands up and said, "I'm not trying to offend you or anything. I'm just trying to say that you take things a little too overboard and you get too paranoid sometimes—''

"Fire Nation Torture Chamber!" Sokka yelled in horror. They had no emerged from the small forested area and into a small town. Their market was little and quieter compared to the bazaar they had entered when they first reached the Fire Nation. The stalls were small but it still had a lively atmosphere to it.

Sokka was pointing at kiln used for pottery and he continued to gape at it in pure horror.

Jin rolled her eyes, patted Sokka's shoulder and said, "Sokka, that's a pottery oven."

"It's not just any pottery oven. It's the pottery oven of _death,_" Sokka said as everyone laughed and went ahead of him. Sokka huffed at all of them, annoyed that as usual they weren't taking any of his very insightful deductions seriously.

Jin peered around and brightened once she saw a small noodle shop tucked into one corner. She extended a finger and said, "Hey! I think I see a noodle shop over there—''

She was interrupted when Sokka suddenly jumped over her and began to make a series of stances, as he stared about suspiciously. He looked at Jin and whispered, "Wolf Warrior to Smiley, mayday! _Mayday!_ Twinkletoes, Sugar Queen and the Super Duper Scary Blind Bandit have left the roost—''

"Left the roost? Smiley? Twinkletoes? Sugar Queen? _Super Duper Scary Blind Bandit? _Sokka, what are you talking about? And why are you whispering?" Jin asked. Behind her, something had caught Toph and Aang's eye and the two of them had wandered to a nearby stall while a poaching street vendor cornered Katara and was now shoving his wares in front of her face as Katara adamantly declined.

Suddenly Sokka grabbed her arm, drew her close and said, "Don't. Make. Eye. Contact."

"Sokka! We're just here to eat noodles!" Jin said exasperated.

"Smiley—''

"That sounds weird. Don't call me that—''

"Toph calls you that."

"She's _Toph,_ Sokka. She's entitled to call anyone anything."

"Smiley—''

"I said—''

"—you need to recuperate Twinkletoes and Super Duper Scary Blind Bandit while I go grab Sugar Queen. We meet back at the mother nest—''

"Mother nest?" Jin incredulously said.

"That's code for noodle shop. _Please, Jin._ Try to keep up," Sokka said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Why are we speaking in codes?" Jin asked as her previously annoyed expression started melting into one of amusement.

Sokka peered around from side to side suspiciously again, pulled her forward and said, "Because they're on to us."

"Who's on to us?"

But Sokka was already tumbling down towards Katara, knocking into a cabbage merchant's stall as he began to make wild gestures out of his paranoia.

"My cabbages!" the man wailed.

Sokka paused from his paranoia-infested run and said, "Hey, didn't you used to be in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Oh. I'm surprised someone remembered," the Cabbage-Man said looking flattered.

"Well you were kind of _everywhere_," Sokka shrugged.

"Taxes were going up in the Earth Kingdom," he shrugged.

"Well, sorry about your—'' Sokka didn't finish since he took a step forward, slipped on a cabbage and barreled headfirst into the already smashed cart.

Jin covered her mouth as the Cabbage-Man wailed, "My Cabbages!"

Jin, who was slightly annoyed at first, was now staring at Sokka with an amused expression.

Sokka, unfazed that he had just ruined the Cabbage-Man's cabbage for the second time, echoed as he peered about suspiciously, "Remember Smiley. The _mother nest_…."

* * *

"No….I think her nose was a bit smaller…." Zuko mumbled as the painter scowled and re-adjusted Jin's nose with a pencil yet again. After his meeting with the hired assassin (Zuko never really knew his real name) Azula had reminded him, _again,_ about the wanted poster. Since he really didn't feel like pushing Azula's buttons anymore, he went to the printer's to get started on Jin's wanted poster. Before the printer could manufacture them into numerous copies, he first had to describe Jin and her brother's face to the agency's painter or portrait-maker.

He finished He Shen's with eased though with Jin's, he was having a more difficult time. He didn't want to see her face plastered on a wanted poster all over the Fire Nation. And also, for some reason (he couldn't quite finger it) he always found something wrong with the painter's picture of Jin. Just a few days ago, he could still remember every detail of Jin's face with ease. Now, it seemed as if he had clogged up and couldn't remember how her eyes or nose were specifically shaped.

"No…wait….you're doing it all wrong…."

"Why so, Your Majesty?" the painter demanded through gritted teeth as he started getting annoyed.

"Maybe….maybe flare her nostrils a little bit…."

The painter grumped, erased what he drew, fixed it and presented it to Zuko who wrinkled his nose and said, "Not_ that _much!"

"Your Majesty would you please make up your mind. I'm running out of erasers," the painter sighed.

Zuko frowned at him, his mind having a raging internal debate. On one note, he was didn't want to make a wanted poster for Jin. He really couldn't bear the thought of what would happen if she would get captured. There was only one place where all the leaders of_ anything_ go to and it was the Boiling Rock. A fortress of unimaginable isolation where no one could escape. That was a place where he hoped Jin would never have to see. On the other hand, he knew that Azula would be severely angry with him once she finds out that he hadn't done exactly as she said. He was already standing on his tiptoes with the Avatar alive and all. He really didn't feel the need to add another item in the many list of things Azula knows that she could use to blackmail him.

Perhaps, he should just give up and leave and let Azula do it. That would ease a little of his guilt. He scowled and shook his head. That option did not sound viable. There was no way Azula would let him go on this one so easily.

He rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long day. They hadn't even started on Jin's eyes or mouth yet.

"How about this Your Majesty?" the painter inquired.

Zuko scowled. Jin's nose was a little too thin now. He was about to snap that he was doing it all wrong when something suddenly clicked inside of him. He suddenly knew what to do.

Zuko smirked, smiling for the first time since his trip to the printer's. He coyly said to the painter, "It doesn't have to be a hundred percent accurate right?"

The painter nodded and said, "Well in most cases, yes. As long as I get a rough sketch of the person's face then we're good to go."

Zuko's smile widened. Azula told him to get Jin's wanted poster done. But she didn't say that he had to do it _properly._

He sat back a little straighter and said in a more enthusiastic voice, "Actually, I remember now. Her nose isn't that small. In fact, she had a very, _very _big nose…."

* * *

"Sokka, I don't want to burst your bubble but…I don't think we can find any information about the Fire Nation by just observing normal citizens," Toph said uncertainly as slurped some noodles.

Jin had successfully managed to pry Aang and Toph from a shop that sold wooden dragonflies that could be flown by attaching it to a string and twisting it with a small latch. The three met up with Sokka at the noodle shop who was trying to appease a very annoyed-looking Katara. Sokka shook hands with Jin, using difficult codes to congratulate her on succeeding with her supposed mission (Aang, Toph and Katara raised their brows at their "codenames"), but it was broken off by a very irritated Katara. According to Katara, Sokka had led her in and out through a series of stalls in a very espionage-like fashion. She began a long rant about how annoying Sokka was and how paranoid and utterly ridiculous he was being. Aang, who hated fights, broke the two up and suggested that they buy noodles.

After buying their noodles, they sat at a table near the window where according to Sokka "they could observe Fire Nation people and gather more information". The noodles seem to lift everyone up from their bad mood over their ruined breakfast (Jin stopped looking guilty) and soon everyone was joking around and laughing—all except for Sokka who continued to insist that they were on a very important mission.

Sokka suddenly bent forward, gasped and exclaimed, "Fire Nation methods of corporal punishment for children!"

He pointed to a young mother playing with her child. They seemed to be having a harmless game of wrestling.

Katara paused from her conversation with Aang and wearily sighed, "Sokka, that's a mom playing with her child."

Sokka ignored her and wailed, "Oh the horrors! What have they done to their children?"

"Would you shut up? You're causing too much attention," Toph said as she elbowed Sokka.

He rubbed his elbow and seemed to have calmed down for awhile when suddenly, he yelled yet again, "Fire Nation laundry line!"

Jin snickered and said, "And that's so scary how….?"

"They're filled with clothes made out of _pure evil_," he darkly said as he popped a shrimp into his mouth.

Katara shook her head in exasperation though she sounded amused when she said, "Sokka they're just clothes. And besides—''

"Fire Nation food made out of poison!" he yelled pointing to a man eating noodles. The man looked up, looking completely shocked.

"Sokka, he's just a person eating noodles like us," Jin patiently said.

"Oh, right," Sokka quietly said, abashed once he realized that the man was staring at him.

He calmed down after that and everyone ate their noodles without an outburst from Sokka. When they all finished, they clambered outside and began to explore (though Sokka referred to it as spying) more of the market. Just as Jin suspected, they did not gain anything from their little trip. As they walked on, they simply saw normal civilians going about their usual business.

"This is so pointless! I say we go back to the cave. Aang still have five more drills to complete," Toph whined as they went by a stall for the fifth time.

Sokka shook his head profusely and said, "But we're not done yet. True, I have gathered useful information on their torture methods—''

"You're delusional," Toph declared as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. What made their little trip all the more unpleasant was the unbearable heat. When they had finished with their noodles the sun had risen high in the sky and made the temperature even hotter.

"—but we still need to stick around some more. I haven't even started on observing their military tactics yet," Sokka said.

"Sokka, I'm hot, sweaty, my feet are killing me and I really want to sack out in the cave right now. Can we please go back?" Aang said as his tongue wagged out.

"You're not sacking out anything when we get back, Twinkletoes. You still need to master five more drills," Toph said.

Aang tiredly lowered his head.

Katara, who was walking behind Jin, seconded the motioned. She eagerly said, "Yeah. Let's go back. We aren't going to learn military tactics by observing civilians."

Sokka's shoulders slumped and he said, "I always get outvoted—''

He gave a yelp as he slipped on something and fell on the ground through his back. Alarmed, everyone quickly gathered around him. Aang held his hand out to help Sokka up.

"Are you okay?" Jin worriedly asked as Sokka stood up, holding the culprit in his hand.

"Yes. I'm obviously very okay despite the fact that I just slipped on a piece of paper and fell on my butt!" Sokka sarcastically said as he rubbed his bottom. Jin wrinkled her nose at him as he looked at the piece of paper. Suddenly his eyes widened and his mouth curled with pronounced pleasure.

"Why are you smiling?" Jin demanded as she raised a brow.

Sokka smiled rubbed his chin and said, "You know what you guys? You're actually right."

"You mean we could go back to the cave?" Aang excitedly asked.

"No—''

Everyone groaned and their faces fell.

"—but you're right about that too. What I'm trying to say is that I finally agree with you all," Sokka said as he continued to read the paper over.

"Agree with us? About what?" Katara incredulously asked.

"I agree that we need to be part of the Fire Nation in order to discover their secrets," he said as he proudly showed them the piece of paper.

Everyone's jaws dropped in shock as they what was written on it.

In a loud voice, he enthusiastically declared, "I'm joining the Fire Nation Army!"

* * *

"What is this?" a cool voice demanded as Zuko sent two fire balls to the right.

He started feeling extremely guilty once again, as soon as he left the printer's so to take his mind off things, he decided to devote the rest of the day to training. So far, he was trying to master a series of complicated drills that he found inscribed in a scroll. The drills proved to be a great distraction. As he somersaulted and sent a burst of flame as he did so, or sent three streams of Fire, he felt as if he had eased some of his guilt and anxiety away.

He scowled. He really didn't feel like talking to Azula so he continued on with his drills, completely ignoring her as she stood in front of the entrance.

Azula disliked being annoyed.

As Zuko sent two streams of fire while giving a high kick, a burst of blue flame suddenly sped in front of him. He stepped back, startled.

"What?" Zuko snarled as he spun around to face her.

"_What is this?"_ Azula demanded a little more forcefully as she displayed the wanted poster in front of him.

Zuko stared at Jin's wanted poster blankly.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I made her wanted poster didn't I?" he said trying to act calm.

"This looks nothing like her!" Azula snarled in rage.

"It's been weeks since I've last seen her Azula. Did it ever occur to you that I might have forgotten what she looked like?" Zuko coldly said as he examined the picture. Even that sounded ridiculous in his own ears. How could he forget Jin's face? Right now, he could picture every single detail of her face in his mind.

He decided to focus on the picture. Okay, so he might have exaggerated when he said he had forgotten her face. He may have altered her appearance…a bit too much. Her cheeks were sagging, fatter and puffier, her nose had been widened and was more pronounced, her big, hazel-green eyes were slanted so it looked smaller while her choppy and messy black hair was too wavy and unruly. In fact, the portrait bore no semblance to Jin—it looked nothing like her.

Apparently Azula thought so too because the wanted poster was suddenly up in blue flames.

Zuko's eyes widened.

"You've always been a bad liar, Zuzu," Azula hissed as she flung the wanted poster on the floor, whirled around and began to stalk away.

Zuko barely had time to react.

Just when she thought she would finally leave him in peace, Azula paused turned around and said with a strangely mocking smile on her lips, "If you don't want father to _know, _Zuzu, I want her wanted poster at my bed at the end of the day. And this time, I want her face plastered on it with excruciatingly accurate detail."

* * *

Toph burst into laughter. When she realized that everyone was looking at Sokka without any trace of humor and amusement, Toph dropped her shoulders and said, "Oh. You're serious."

"Of course I am! Guys, think about it!" Sokka said.

"I am thinking about it and you know what it sounds like to me? It sounds really idiotic!" Toph said.

Sokka huffed at her and said, "You guys didn't think it was idiotic when we sent Aang to school!"

Aang sighed, shook his head and tried to patiently explain, "Sokka, I'm not trying to immediately shoot your idea down but….it sounds really ridiculous!"

"It's not as ridiculous as your school idea!" Sokka defensively said.

"That's different. In Aang's school, there weren't any evil Fire Nation soldiers to roast him alive if he did one wrong thing," Katara said.

Sokka crossed his arms and sarcastically said, "Right. Only, it's evil Fire Nation _truant officers_ who'll roast him alive if he did one wrong thing."

"I'm just trying to be practical!" Katara scoffed.

Sokka threw his hands up and said, "Why is it whenever Aang wants to _learn,_ everyone's okay with it but if _I_ want to _learn, _no one sides with me!"

"You said that learning sucked," Toph said.

"Well, I like learning now so that officially means it doesn't suck! Specifically, learning in the Fire Nation army," Sokka said as he desperately tried to defend his idea.

"Well….when you put it that way….I guess it doesn't sound that bad…," Jin mused as she rubbed her Jin.

Sokka, eager at the encouragement, rushed over to Jin, pointed at her and said, "See! See! Jin agrees with me!"

Aang and Katara looked unsure while Toph seemed to be warming up.

"It still sounds….dangerous," Aang finally said after moments of silence.

Sokka scowled, digressed and said, "It's the perfect plan but none of you are willing to see it. I will stay in the army for a couple of days, gather information and leave directly after I collect enough data. Simple as that."

"I guess it's okay but just so you know….I'm completely against the idea," Katara said.

"You guys are always against my ideas!" Sokka frowned.

Toph tapped his shoulder and asked, "And how do you plan on signing up? You look too young to be in the army."

Sokka showed her the paper and said, "As you can see, it says here on the paper that the recruitment station which is at their training grounds is just about a kilometer away from here—''

"ReallY? 'Cause it says here that it's _two_ kilometers away from this town," Toph said as she pointed at the corner of the paper.

Sokka frowned, rubbed his head and looked at the paper again saying, "Really? Because I was so sure that—''

Everyone suddenly broke into laughter. Sokka peered around confused at first but then he finally realized that as always, Toph played another joke on him. She couldn't see.

"Thanks for letting a blind girl _see_ a paper, you idiot," Toph snorted.

"Okay, okay! Whatever. Age doesn't matter. I have my beard!" Sokka said procuring the beard from his shirt.

"You've kept that with you all this time?" Katara asked with mild disgust.

"It's _special_. Anyway, as I've said, their recruitment station is only a kilometer away. If I start out now, I'll be there by mid-afternoon! Now who wants to go with me?" Sokka said eagerly.

He turned to look at Aang.

"Oh well…I'd go with you but erm…I have to do those drills Toph was talking about," Aang said as he wiped sweat from his forehead yet again.

"And I have to facilitate Twinkletoes' drills," Toph said in a matter-of-fact tone as Sokka turned to look at her.

"I have to um…make dinner," Katara quickly as Sokka turned to look at her.

"I have to um….shampoo my hair?" Jin said as Sokka looked at her. Sokka frowned at her disbelievingly. Katara prodded Jin forward and Toph looked away.

"Okay, I guess I could do it another time. I guess that it leaves just me then to walk with Sokka in this _stifling heat_ so he could sign up to be in the Fire Nation army…." Jin sighed as walked next to Sokka.

As the group separated Sokka's shoulders slumped and he miserably said, "I get no support."

* * *

"Back again your Highness?" the painter asked in surprise as Zuko entered their shop.

"The princess wasn't um….satisfied with the poster," Zuko sighed as he grabbed a stool and sat down. The painter sighed, fully aware that they were about to start another long siege on creating the outlaw's face. He grabbed a paper, his pencil and erase, sat down in front of Zuko, cleared his throat and said, "So, you know what to do. Tell me what the shape of her face looks like."

Zuko was about to say another false detail when he stopped himself and found himself saying, "It's a bit rounded….I guess."

The painter stared back at him, surprised that he actually said something with certainty. He made a quick sketch and presented it to Zuko, "Like this, Your Highness?"

Zuko stared at it and said, "Um….maybe….maybe fix her chin a little bit more….yeah….that's it…."

As soon as the painter finished, he looked up and stared at Zuko expectantly.

"Oh, her nose right? Well….I guess…"

"Big and chunky, as you once said?

"No, no. I didn't remember that well back then. Her nose is…..is really, really small like a button. Yeah….she has a bit of button nose…..it's kinda cute when you think about it," Zuko mumbled as the painter hurriedly sketched Zuko's descriptions. He started thinking about how cute and strikingly contrast, Jin's nose was in compared to his long, pointed one. He remembered all those times that when they kissed, her nose would accidentally brush against his. Once he was finished he showed it off to Zuko and Zuko nodded, satisfied.

"How about her eyes? Slanted or you didn't remember as well during that time too?" the painter demanded.

"No…her eyes are big and wide like almonds or like doe's eyes….." Zuko trailed off as he remembered how Jin's eyes would widen or narrow or go half-lidded depending on her mood. Those eyes which were always bright with happiness except for that one time wherein she found out. Zuko balled his fist up.

"Like this?" the painter inquired.

"Exactly like that," Zuko nodded. He then went on to the ears.

"They're like regular ears except maybe…maybe they're shaped like beans….I don't know!" Zuko scowled. Noting his angry mood, the painter hurriedly sketched it and prodded Zuko to proceed with her mouth.

Oh Agni! Her mouth! Zuko began to describe her mouth, the image forming as he continued on with his description. Zuko began to remember the feeling of her lips against his—how it was sometimes dry from too many hours working in the sun, selling flowers or how her kiss always sent tingles up her spine. Zuko felt heat rising in his neck all the way to his face and to the tip of his ears.

"Are you alright your Highness?" the painter asked.

Zuko snapped back to focus and muttered sheepishly, "Yeah….I'm alright…."

"Now….onto her hair…" the painter said.

"Well….her hair…her hair's really choppy, straight but uneven and extremely messy. She's got bangs on either sides and a small tuft of hair at the center…."

The painter continued to sketch . Zuko knew that with most her features down, all that's left would be the more specific details. He prepared himself for the speedy drill.

"Hair color?"

"Black," Zuko promptly answered.

"Eye color?"

"Hazel-green."

"Skin tone?"

"Light but not pale. I guess her skin is kind of olive…."

"Well…..I supposed that's all your highness. Wow. She looks a lot prettier than the first one I drew of her," the painter whistled.

Zuko stared at it sadly and frowned, "Yeah I guess so….but still….it's…it's missing something…"

"Yes Your Majesty?" the painter prodded.

Zuko's chest tightened as he realized what he was missing. In a sad tone he said, "It's missing her smile."

* * *

Jin was very tired after walking a kilometer from town in the blistering heat. Her knees ached and her face glistened with sweat. She was more than ready to go back to the cave and her stomach rumbled in anticipation at what Katara might have cooked for them. Sokka on other hand, seemed to be powered and fueled by his idea since he showed not a trace of tiredness as they walked on. His beard, which he had plastered on his face, made him looked impressive, Jin had to admit. When they reached within a few meter's length away Sokka immediately sprinted towards the small unimpressive sign labeled "Recruitment Station" while Jin wearily trailed after him.

The Recruitment Station was nothing more than a small wooden table with a large, pocked-marked man manning it. Sokka eagerly strode forwards and said, "Hey, I'd like to join the army."

The man yawned and nodded wordlessly.

"So what do I do? Is there a test? Do I have to pass something? Do—''

"Just give me your name," the man said with a hint of irritation.

Sokka, taken aback at first, quickly recovered. He stepped back, straightened up and with one imperious stroke of his beard he grandly declared, "The name's Fire. Wang Fire."

The man sighed and wrote his name down.

"Adress?"

Sokka faltered for a moment and said nervously, "Um…my house is in….actually, my house is not a house…it's a cave….sort of…which is in the forest…."

The man repeated as he wrote down, "House is not really house but a cave in the forest. Sort of."

Sokka stared at Jin who was trying to catch her breath at his side nervously.

"Any spouse?"

"Um…no I'm single—actually, wait! I do in fact, have a wife! Sapphire Fire, come here and meet this fine gentleman!" Sokka declared as he hooked Jin's elbow and presented her to the man. The man broke out from his bored stupor to stare at Jin with hungry eyes. Jin, thoroughly creep out, huffed at Sokka and forced a smile, "Yup. That's me. Sapphire Fire. Wang Fire's wife."

"Well? Write it down!" Sokka said once he realized that the man's gaze at Jin was a little too creepy for his tastes.

The man hurriedly wrote it down, muttering under his breath, "Sapphire Fire…."

Sokka straightened his back, apparently proud while Jin looked annoyed.

"Any children?"

"Yes—''

"No—''

Sokka groaned while Jin slapped her forehead.

"So should I write yes or no here?" the man asked stupidly.

"Actually, what Wang means is—''

"I want to have children but she refuses to!" Sokka dramatically said spreading his arms wide apart, causing Jin to step back.

"Oh. So I guess I'll write 'no' here," the man said.

After asking him more questions and after replying with many creative lies about his supposed life as Wang Fire, the man declared that he was now an official recruit of the Fire Nation army.

"Wait, you mean there's no test, no nothing?" Sokka asked, flabbergasted.

"Thank the spirits," Jin sighed.

"You mean I'm in. Just like that?" Sokka said in pure disbelief.

The man shrugged and said, "Yeah but you start right away. You gotta move in by tonight. Sorry, sweetheart, but women aren't allowed in the barracks…"

Jin wrinkled her nose at the man.

"The Fire Nation has terrible recruiting services!" Sokka declared.

The man sent him a glare. Jin quickly elbowed Sokka and retracted, "He's just messing around as usual!"

"Well….if you have nothing else to do, you better start your goodbyes," the man said.

When Jin realized that Sokka would be moving into the barracks by tonight she looked at the man in surprise and said, 'Can't he come here tomorrow—''

Sokka held his hand up and saw, "Naw. Don't worry about…erm…me….er…_dear."_

Jin rolled her eyes.

"I'll be fine. Just tell the _others _that I'll be back as soon as I can," Sokka seriously said. He grabbed both of Jin's shoulders and a sort of understanding passed between them.

Jin whispered urgently, "Sokka I'm not sure about this. It's all too sudden. You don't have time to think about—''

"Start acting like my very miserable wife!" he ordered.

"Sokka, don't you think—''

"Go on without me, Sapphire Fire!" Sokka dramatically said as he prodded Jin away. Jin glared at him but looked uncertain to leave.

"Sok—_Wang_, I'm not so sure—''

"Don't cry, Sapphire Fire! I know that you'll miss me! But I have a duty to fufill," Sokka said and with another exaggerated wave of his hand, he entered the tall gate, sending Jin a small smile as he ploughed on forward.

Jin watched, feeling as if she had done something severely wrong by letting Sokka go just like that. She wondered how she will ever be able to explain this to Aang and the rest.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the man who leered at her and said maliciously, "Don't worry, sweetheart. If you ever get lonely, I'll keep you warm."

Jin scowled and earthbent him upside down.

* * *

It was approximately three days since Sokka left and everyone began to miss him terribly. Katara missed her older brother's annoying mannerisms and paranoia, Aang missed Sokka's sarcasm and meat-loving ways, Jin missed the bickers she often had with Sokka and Toph just missed Sokka in general. The cave for some reason felt emptier and colder without Sokka's warm humor.

The day drew on and Katara listlessly made breakfast while Aang went off to practice some of his Earthbending and Waterbending drills. Toph and Jin played some cards but for some reason that made Toph restless. Finally as they were eating lunch, Toph declared that she couldn't stand the austereness of their little cave any longer. Katara agreed and together, they told Jin and Aang that they'll be off to the town to check some things out for awhile and invited them to join in. Jin and Aang declined and as soon as Katara and Toph left, the two made plans to cool themselves down in a small river that ran upstream just a few meters away from their cave.

Aang amused Jin by showing her a few of the Waterbending tricks Katara had taught him. With great concentration, he managed to form a small statue of a bird. He then began to make it fly.

"Impressive, I admit. But check this out," Jin said, smiling wickedly. She widened her stance and with the mud that formed from the banks of the river she earthbent a small figure and she made it fly around the place.

"What's that supposed to be?" Aang demanded as he squinted his eyes at it.

Jin frowned and said, "Isn't it kind of obvious? It's supposed to be you in your glider…"

And at that moment, Jin discovered that her artistic skills were about as good as her cooking skills. Nevertheless, she managed a semi-decent figure (made out of mud) modeled after Aang. With Aang's water bird and Jin's….thing….flying around the two began to make it go in a heated race. Just as Jin was about to win, a hawk suddenly swooped in, crashed against Jin's flying figure, got mud in its eyes and stumbled over towards a tree.

Jin and Aang stopped their little race and hurried towards the hawk.

"It's a messenger hawk," Aang said.

"Do you think it could be a message from the Fire Nation that we accidentally intercepted?" Jin asked.

Aang shrugged, grabbed the tiny scroll inside the case and handed it to Jin.

"Read it out loud and see what it's about. I'll try to fix the little guy up," Aang said, his caring nature towards animals taking over him.

Jin nodded, opened the scroll and was horrified to see that it was in Sokka's handwriting. Also, it looked as if he was in a hurry when he wrote this.

"It's from Sokka," Jin worriedly said as she scanned the letter.

Aang stopped what he was doing and gasped, "_What?_ What does it say?"

Jin read it, her face becoming increasingly worried as she progressed, "It says 'Writing this before drill sergeant comes back. Stole teh hawk. Probably will get in trouble. So miserable here. Not even wearing my beard helps. Get me out of here!'"

Aang straightened up and said "That's it. I knew this was a bad idea. We have to go get Sokka."

As soon as he propped the messenger hawk up, he moved forward but Jin stopped him, grabbing him by the arm. She said, "Look, we can't both go."

"But—''

"Toph and Katara might get worried when they come back and find us gone. And we all know how Katara is. How about if I'll go look for Sokka and you guys wait here," Jin said as she started drying her hair.

Aang frowned and said, "Jin, I don't know about this…"

Jin snorted and said, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll be all fine. You know Sokka. If anything, he's probably just exaggerating."

* * *

"Private Fire, your wife is here to see you," the drill sergeant said as Sokka did another lap of jogging with the moo-sow at his back. Hope sparked in Sokka's eyes as the moo-sow heavily pressed against Sokka's back. The drill sergeant however, looked irritated more than anything.

"Really? Where?" Sokka eagerly asked praying that Jin bought something to eat with her. Sokka cringed and decided against his last mental note. On second thought, it would be beneficial for all if Jin didn't brink anything for him to eat—especially if it was her who had cooked it.

"She's outside the gate. Private, didn't I tell you that women aren't allowed to visit in this compound unless during summer lapses?" the drill sergeant gruffly demanded.

"Sorry. But you know my wife. She gets a bit….too….suspicious sometimes…." Sokka wheezed under the weight of the moo-sow.

"I'm giving you five minutes, private! For every minute extension, you'll get two laps each. Now get moving!" the drill sergeant barked.

Sokka exhaled loudly before collapsing on the ground and dropping his moo-sow. He struggled to stand up, eager to escape when suddenly the moo-sow was back on his shoulders.

"The moo-sow Private! Keep the moo-sow with you always!" the drill sergeant barked.

"Do I have to?" Sokka groaned.

"Are you sassing me Private?" the Drill Sergeant demanded.

"No, sir," Sokka gulped before ducking down and running as fast as he could to the gate before the drill sergeant could further bombard him with insults and comments. He had expected all of his friends there, ready to bust him out so he was severely disappointed once he realized that only Jin was standing there, her weight on one foot and her arms folded.

He wailed in horror.

"Sokka—er, I mean Wang? Are you carrying a moo-sow?" Jin asked in surprise.

"Where is everyone else?" Sokka wheezed, dropping the moo-sow and taking short labored breaths.

"Back at the cave. Why?" Jin frowned.

Sokka slapped his forehead once realizing that Jin had not fully comprehended the terrible situation he was in. he said, "Why? _Why?_ Do you not have any idea how horrible it is in here?"

Jin scoffed, "I'm sure it's not that bad. And besides, I didn't bring anyone along because I thought you were—''

"I need to get out of here!" Sokka wailed, shaking Jin wildly as he did so.

Jin, finally comprehending what Sokka's situation entailed, widened her eyes and said, "But what about the fire nation intel? Didn't you _learn_ anything at all? 'Cause it'd be a shame if you learned nothing. You do know, if you came back empty-handed it would prove to Katara that she was right."

Sokka seemed to have caught and calmed himself down for awhile at that statement. He pulled Jin closer and whispered, "Actually I did find out about something."

Jin stared at him and smiled. She said, "Really?"

"Yup. _Really._ Last night, I overheard two of my comrades talking about the vault," Sokka continued in a hushed whisper.

"The vault? What's the vault?" Jin asked her attention fully captured.

"They say it's where the Fire Nation keeps most of its military plans. See, every week they send a general battle plan to each Fire Nation outpost—''

"And there's one here?" Jin asked.

"Yeah. And just the other day I heard someone else say that the drill sergeant plans to put new recruits in the front lines!" Sokka wailed as he tried to keep the moo-sow from escaping by blocking it's path with his foot.

Jin gasped and said, "Front lines? Whoa. I didn't know that it was that urgent!"

"I just sent you a very harried letter. How could it be anymore urgent?" Sokka said losing his calm.

"Calm down. First of all, I can't bust you out here on my own. I need to go back to get some re-enforcements," Jin said.

"I can't last another day here!" Sokka rasped.

"Is it that horrible?" Jin asked sympathetically.

"I got flung off from a komodo-rhino!" Sokka hollered.

Jin cringed and said, "Ouch."

"And that's not all! They made me do _everything_ with the Moo-Sow!" Sokka whined shoving the Moo-Sow at Jin's face. Jin stepped back and cringed as the Moo-Sow snorted.

"Everything?" she mumbled.

"_Everything!_ I had to clean its heiny while I took a bath!" Sokka yowled as he dropped the Moo-Sow who was struggling against his grasp.

"Sokka, don't worry. I'll run back to the cave as fast as I can. By nightfall, I'm sure we could—''

"And they wouldn't give me the uniform with the scary skull mask! Can you believe that?" Sokka hysterically said.

"Sokka, calm down—''

"Look! We don't have any time for you to go back, okay Jin?" Sokka said.

"What do you want me to do Sokka?" Jin said, catching Sokka's infectious hysterics.

"The only clear solution is that you have to stay here and steal the military information—''

"Me? But—but, I'll get caught!"

"You can handle it fine," Sokka dismissively said.

"We're in a place crawling with Fire Nation soldiers!" Jin said as she stamped her foot.

"Pffft….."

"Well, if it's just 'Pffft…' why can't you do it?" Jin demanded.

"Because the drill sergeant hates me and he's watching me like an eagle hawk—''

"Private Fire! Did I or did I not tell you to keep the Moo-Sow on your back at all times?" a loud voice boomed from behind them. Jin and Sokka jumped, completely startled. Sokka frantically grabbed the Moo-Sow but missed since it escaped through his clutches. The Moo-Sow squealed before, much to Sokka's subsequent horror, rushing towards the drill sergeant and knocking him off his feet.

"Private Fire! For thoroughly humiliating me in the presence of a lady, you are given seven extra laps for your run tonight!" the drill sergeant boomed as he tried to get up.

Sokka frantically rushed towards the Moo-Sow, tripping against the drill sergeant's leg as he passed by. Jin slapped her forehead as the drill sergeant yelled, "Private Fire! You just added yourself seven more laps! Now get that stupid Moo-Sow, put it in your back and resume your training!"

"Yes sir!" Sokka said as he tried to catch the Moo-Sow.

"So, you must be Private Fire's wife," the drill sergeant gruffly addressed Jin as soon as he dusted himself off.

"Yup. Sapphire Fire, Wang Fire's wife. Nice to meet you," Jin politely said. She held her hand out but the drill sergeant merely regarded her with a calculating gaze.

"Private Fire, there's something different about your wife. Where did you say she was from again?" the drill sergeant asked as soon as Sokka managed to catch the Moo-Sow and hoisted it up on his back.

"Um….from uh…from the…." Sokka racked his brain for a sensible answer and looked at Jin for support. Jin's look clearly told him that he had to do it himself.

Sokka grumbled, "She's from um…."

"The Earth Kingdom! Private Fire are you aware that your wife is from the Earth Kingdom!" the drill sergeant said.

"Um…yes?" Sokka said uncertainly.

"Humphf. I thought so. Only a classless dimwit like you would fall for a manner-less colony slob—''

"Excuse me?" Jin snapped, her face coloring.

She opened her mouth, ready to give the drill sergeant a piece of her mind when Sokka stepped in front of her and said edgily, "Can I speak with my wife for one more minute sergeant?"

The drill sergeant snorted and said, "You've wasted your five minutes."

"Come on!"

"Sergeant if you want to say something to her, you can say it in my presence. I am a man of secrecy," the drill sergeant said in a dignified tone.

Sokka watched Jin's increasingly furious expression and he quickly said, "But….I wanted to….um…..give her a goodbye kiss. You wouldn't want to stick around for that would you?"

The sergeant, an unmarried man in his forties, wrinkled his nose and said, "Well….I suppose I could leave you alone for a minute."

And after much deliberation, he added, "But the Moo-Sow has to be on your back at all times, you hear me private?"

And with that he stalked off leaving Sokka with a few, very precious minutes with Jin alone. Jin seemed to be sick of being referred to as a manner-less colony slob because she was having a very long rant under her breath.

"Stupid fire nation people….manner-less slobs huh?...well I'll show those dimbulbs—''

"Smiley, mayday! Mayday!" Sokka managed to sputter as he staggered under the weight of the Moo-Sow.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that we have less than one minute to get things straightened out. Okay, Smiley—''

"Sokka, I told you never to—''

"—your mission is this: get the swags from the enemy's den while I perform operation distraction—''

"Are we speaking in codes again?" Jin asked incredulously.

"Sssh and let me finish! As I've said, once you get the swag meet me in room Sokka—''

"I have no idea what you're talking about! Can't we just speak normally?" Jin pleaded.

"That's code for get the military tactics, I'll meet you outside the barracks and we'll sneak away _undetected_ and leave this place and this stupid Moo-Sow forever and ever! And would you please keep up with all the codes? They aren't _that_ difficult to memorize," Sokka scowled in frustration.

"Sokka I don't even know where the vault—er, enemy's den is," Jin desperately said. She suddenly wished that Aang was here.

"It's next to the changing room," Sokka hurriedly said.

"Changing room? Of all places, why there?"

"It's cause even if you're only a few meters away, the stink gets to you. It really sets anyone who tries to get in there off," Sokka said.

"But what if there are traps?"

"Then employ Tactic number 123," Sokka murmured.

"Tactic number one to what?" Jin said, absolutely baffled.

"Improvise! Yeesh! Can you please keep up?"

"I don't even understand why we're having codes," Jin grumbled.

"I'm just trying to make sure that no one understands what we're talking about! We're in an enemy training camp! For all we know, there could be spies everywhere!"

"Sokka, we're surrounded by nothing. Who's going to spy on us? The soil?" Jin sighed exasperated.

"Remember we meet at Room Sokka!" Sokka said as the Moo-Sow began to struggled at his back.

"Sokka—wait! How do I get in?"

Sokka opened his mouth to answer her when suddenly, to her surprise, he lunged forward, completely disregarding his Moo-Sow and gave her a giant hug. With an over-exaggerated sob he chortled, "I'll miss you too Sweetheart! But duty calls! The Fire Lord calls! My nation calls!"

He finished with a dramatic flourish. Jin realized that the drill sergeant was now standing behind them and since the Moo-Sow broke free again—it barreled through the drill sergeant sending him flying into the air and unto the ground again.

"Look, just try your best, okay? But if you can't make it, it's fine. As long as we meet up outside the barracks before midnight," Sokka whispered before running off to catch the Moo-Sow again.

Jin frowned, worried, as she backed away. She hurried away from the camp, her mind clogged with plans as he heard the drill sergeant yell at Sokka, "Private Fire, for humiliating me again you'll have seven more laps! And did I not say to keep the Moo-Sow on your back at all times?"

* * *

Sokka huffed wearily, "Fif-fifteen…."

He was half-way through his laps with Moo-Sow on his back and so far he was having a very miserable time. He regretted ever having this idea at all. The sun was slowly sinking and he still had not heard a sign from Jin. He hoped that she was okay. Their security here in the Fire Nation was very lax so he was crossing his figures that Jin would be able to complete her mission.

"Hold you head up high Private! You've still got an extra six to go!" the drill sergeant barked as Sokka wheezed pass him.

"E-extra six? No problem," he said as his knees wobbled.

"Is that a tone of disrespect I hear—''

Suddenly he paused, cocked his head to the side and craned his ear. Sokka, wondering what one earth could have happened to stop the drill sergeant's torture tried to listen. There was an unearthly commotion from the distance that seemed to have come from the training yard. Suddenly a gong resounded throughout the whole place making only one conclusion….

"We have an intruder in the premises! Private, drop your Moo-Sow, grab your weapons and let's go!" the drill sergeant ordered and with that he sprinted across towards the courtyard.

Sokka dropped the Moo-Sow and began to panic. There could only be one conclusion from this: Jin had obviously failed her mission.

And he was right. He watched in horror as she tried to desperately hang on unto a komodo-dragon while at least twenty soldiers jabbed spears at her. Jin tried to earthbend them all away but it was obvious that she was already on the brink of losing. Sokka was about to rush over to help her when the drill sergeant shoved him away and firebent a fireball towards Jin. Jin dodged it but she fell out of the komodo dragon and was immediately caught by five soldiers who immediately cuffed her.

Sokka bit his lip.

"Well…well….I knew it. I knew it that colony slobs were up to no good! Private Fire, are you aware that this is your wife?" the drill sergeant demanded as Jin struggled against the soldier's grasp.

"Um….are you sure she's my wife? Because I remember her being taller..." Sokka nervously said as he pulled at his shirt.

"Don't play games with me sergeant! You! What was she doing?" the drill sergeant demanded to one of the men who held Jin.

The men looked afraid to be addressed and he said in a scared tone, "Oh her? We're not really sure, sir. One of them just saw her sneaking around behind the pillar….."

"I was trying to find food for Sok—Wang okay?" Jin burst out in desperation. Sokka and everyone else stared at her.

"You were?" Sokka said.

"What? Your motives are baffling," the drill sergeant declared.

Jin held her nose up high, shook the men's grasp free and snapped, "I've heard that you've been treating my Wang horribly! I just couldn't stand seeing him lugging that stupid Moo-Sow around! And also I've heard that you haven't been feeding him right—''

"I feed everyone fine!" the drill sergeant huffed.

"Well…actually you feed us the same thing everyday," someone in the crowd piped up.

"Silence!"

"—so I decided to sneak back in here to find my Wang something to eat!" Jin continued.

"Yes! That's exactly what she was doing!" Sokka said.

"Or she could be spy from the Earth kingdom and she's trying to get stuff from our vault!" the drill sergeant crowed.

"That's ridiculous! She's only doing what every caring wife does. She's trying to get me food," Sokka said trying his best to defend Jin.

"Yes. I'm just a woman….caught in the act of….er….extreme love?" Jin said the last few words uncertainly.

The crowd soon erupted into awws. One man began to say that he missed his wife. The drill sergeant was very angry. He stamped his foot and boomed, "But still, why were you trying to steal a komodo-rhino?"

"Because….erm….because…"

"Because my wife is a bit of a klepto and um…she's komodo-rhino obsessed! Yeah! That's it!" Sokka said.

The drill sergeant didn't look ready to let this go but someone in the crowd said, "Aww come on sir. Just let her go. And besides, we didn't find her bringing anything when we caught her."

"Yeah, her explanation sounds reasonable," someone else said.

"I know that's what my wife would do!"

"And she's right! The food here tastes terrible!"

Since everything seemed to be on the verge of riot, the drill sergeant sighed and let Jin go. As Jin stood up, the drill sergeant narrowed his eyes at her and said, "You may have fooled everyone here, Earth Kingdom wench. But not me. I know what colony people are like."

Jin shot daggers at him.

"And the next time you or Private fire act up, it'll be treason for both of you," the drill sergeant added.

"Come on, sweetheart! I'll walk you to the gate," Sokka said. He grabbed Jin's arm and hurriedly walked her away.

"Private, I suggest that you keep your wife under control," the drill sergeant snapped as the two began to edge away.

"Don't worry sir. I'll straighten my wife up something' fierce," Sokka said before turning on Jin and blustering at her face, "You ma'am are going to get the punishment of your life once I get home from training!"

The drill sergeant nodded in approval as Sokka led Jin away.

"And for this outbreak Private, you'll get another seven laps!" the drill sergeant yelled at Sokka as he and Jin ducked away.

"You almost blew our cover!" he hissed once they safely made it out.

"Yes, but I got the swag," Jin said smiling at Sokka smugly.

Sokka's jaw dropped and he said, "What—but—how—''

"Mission completed Wolf Warrior," Jin said with a mock salute.

Sokka sputtered, "But where did you hide it?"

Jin's face colored, she looked away and said, "Just don't ask."

* * *

Sokka decided to escape with Jin that very moment as they exited the gate. He could not stand one more day at the stupid training bootcamp. It was too much for his body to handle. They were half-way away from the camp when suddenly they heard shouts from the distance.

"What's that?" Jin asked fearfully.

"I don't know!" Sokka wheezed.

"It sounds like….sounds like Komodo-rhinos…"

"The Fire Nation Army! Why are they following us?" Sokka said as he bordered on the lines of panic.

"Don't look at me! It's not my fault!" Jin defensively said as she ran harder.

"Are you kidding me? It's exactly _your_ fault! Look!" Sokka said as he pointed to a tree. Jin's jaw dropped. There pinned on the tree, was a wanted poster of her.

"I have a wanted poster?" she incredulously said.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know! And how did they know anyway?" Jin said.

"A bunch of wanted posters were delivered this afternoon! I can't believe this!" Sokka grumped as he ran faster.

"Look on the bright side Sokka! At least they made me look pretty!" Jin said trying to be enthusiastic.

"We're being chased by a horde of Fire Nation soldiers. Yes Jin. I am looking at the bright side," Sokka sarcastically said.

They ran a good distance without stopping until finally the noise and the sounds of komodo-rhino's footsteps died down. They caught glimpse of the town and once they did, they turned to the left where they found the cave. Wheezing and out of breath, the two of them burst inside.

"Where have you guys been? We were worried sick," Katara said.

"Yeah, we were just coming to look for you," Aang said.

"We need to leave! Now!" Sokka frantically said.

"What happened?" Toph demanded.

"Smiley just—''

"Hey! No one can call her that except me!" Toph said.

"—flopped the mission. We're on red alert everyone!" Sokka said.

"What?" Katara incredulously said.

"It means we're in big trouble," Jin explained as she gasped for some air.

"Look, I'll keep an eye outside," Sokka said as he strode outside.

He continued, "I think if we get out of here in a few minutes, we'll be fine!"

Sokka stepped outside and to his horror, he found the whole Fire Nation battalion on him, there spears pointed at him.

"Private fire, you are in serious trouble! You've deserted the Fire Nation armory and furthermore, you have been harboring a Fire Nation fugitive. A resistance leader of Ba Sing Se!" the drill sergeant barked.

Sokka gulped, "Or not."

* * *

Beads of sweat dropped from Sokka's forehead as he fumbled for a decent explanation, "It was my wife! She attacked me and so I…um…followed her here where I discovered waterbender and earthbenders spies with her!"

"Such lies! You are sorely mistaken if you think that you could weasel your way out of this one Private fire!" the drill sergeant barked.

Losing hope, he yelled the first thing that came to mind, "Smiley, operation 679!"

Silence.

"What in Agni's name was that?" the sergeant demanded.

Suddenly the earth shook and an earth pillar suddenly tumbled past the cave and into the right of the soldiers. A stream of water spurted past Sokka and into the left soaking everyone. Stunned and shamed the drill sergeant stared at Sokka in disbelief.

"You mean to say that….what….you mean….it's all actually true?" he gaped.

Sokka smiled in relief and he said, "Yes it is. But don't worry, drill sergeant! To prove my loyalty, I'll take them down myself!"

And before the drill sergeant could react, Sokka strode towards the cave. Once he was in panic seized him but he immediately calmed down once he saw the tunnel that Toph made for them to escape in.

"Get in! I'm bringing this whole place down!" Toph said as she gestured at the tunnel.

"Toph and Aang will stay so it will seem like you're actually fighting with us! Now come on!" Katara said as she scrambled down the tunnel.

"Wait, you guys actually knew what I was talking about?" Sokka said before he left the cave.

"Actually, I had no idea what you were yelling. Operation 679? What on earth is that?" Katara demanded.

Toph elbowed Jin and said, "But apparently Smiley knew. Said it was some sort of code for—''

Sokka burst into a big smile and said, "You finnaly got the codes down!"

Jin gave a small salute and said, "Thank you Wolf Warrior!"

"Wolf Warrior? Codes? Did I miss something?" Aang asked.

"Look we have to get going," Katara said as she pulled Sokka and dragged him down the tunnel.

Sokka nodded and said, "Right! Team Avatar, let's operate Operation Escape!"

* * *

Zuko holed himself up in the library. After finishing Jin's wanted poster he felt extremely guilty. He considered going to his uncle's prison cell but he wasn't in the mood for another silent meeting. He decided to busy himself by reading some books and the news when Azula interrupted his peace again.

Zuko scowled and snapped, "What is it this time Azula? I got your stupid wanted poster."

Azula shrugged and said, "I'm just here to thank you, Zuzu. Stop being paranoid."

Zuko huffed and looked away.

Azula smirked and said, "And also, to deliver a bit of good news. We finally caught some news of your girlfriend. We have a sighting in a military camp."

* * *

_Whoo! Another chapter down! Writing about "Wang Fire" and his wife, "Sapphire Fire" was so ridiculously satisfying that I had to do another one! Jin and Sokka and their antics are just so fun to write! I don't know why but I just love the kind of friendship they bring. And also I wanted to keep things light for awhile. _

_So anyway, this is from a canonical comic called "Private Fire." No, I haven't exactly read the comic myself (which explains why it's severely inaccurate) but I have done my research (via Avatar wikia) so it isn't too off-tangent. _

_To SkorpionQueen012: Lots of thanks and love for reviewing as always! It just occurred to me that I didn't really answer your previous question. No, Sokka's not taking a liking to Jin. I'm an avid Sokka/Suki shipper. I just love the whole dynamic Jin and Sokka have going on. _

_To StaminaRose: Whew, first lengthy reviews, I've had so far (it matches my overly-long chapters). I really appreciate your criticism and don't worry—I won't ignore it. I'm sorry if you don't like Jin's characterization. However, you might not be seeing a difference in Jin's characterization just yet—I'm still holding out on something; it's part of the story. So you're just going to have to be a little more patient. But anyway, thanks for the constructive criticism. You don't know how much that means to me.:)_

_ToArrayeP: Thanks for the review. It made my day. _

_To Alana C. Jones: One word. Whoa. Best compliment I've had so far. Never thought that I'd be Sifu material. Super thanks! I really appreciate it!_

_To Marina Hawk: Three words for you and it's: AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! Thank you so much!_

_To Wisconsin: Thank you so much! It made my heart swell three sizes bigger._

_To __TheApocalypticTarantula__: Thanks for both reviews! You make me want to write more!_


	15. Part XIV

**Burning Bright**

_Part XIV_

Jin's bright and often sunny mood seemed to dampen during the last few days. After seeing her wanted poster plastered all over the Fire Nation bulletins, Aang subjected her to hide and she was often excluded from their excursions around town. Jin was very miserable, staying behind in their hiding places while Katara, Sokka, Aang and Toph had fun around town but she didn't bother to argue or be rebellious about it. As much as she hated to admit it, Aang was right. They really couldn't afford to draw any more attention to themselves, especially after the shenanigans that she and Sokka got themselves in last week.

The military tactics that Jin had stolen proved to be useful—they were battle plans of any invasion from a foreign land that might happen. They now knew where to anticipate attacks and defenses during the day of the Black Sun. Sokka was very smug when he presented what his little trip in the Fire Nation Army gained him. That made them work all the more harder in training Aang and preparing for the invasion.

Also, she didn't really want to spark any more of Katara's wrath. Lately, she and Toph had been at the edge of each other's teeth ever since Aang came back from his trip in the Spirit World and that propelled Katara into a very disagreeable mood. With the invasion drawing closer, it seemed as if every little thing set their temper off. They argued more, traded more insults and their bending practices with Aang always ended in a death match. However, at the end of the day they always made up and dinner was always light and fun.

They've done so many things in the past few days that Jin felt as if it was already light years away. They helped Katara (in the guise of the Painted Lady) in her quest to liberate a Fire Nation village plagued by a factory that dumped all its wastes in their river, supported Sokka in his dream to become "useful" as he enrolled himself under the tutelage of a swords master, swam in the famous Fire Nation Hot springs and finally guarded Aang as he responded to a vision Avatar Roku gave to him and journeyed in the Spirit World.

But by far, the most interesting thing that happened to them was when a mysterious and unknown man with a fearsome eye on his forehead attacked them, using Firebending in a way they had never known before. They had barely escaped, unscathed and that gave them all the more reason to be careful.

"Can you believe her? I did _nothing_ to her and she just went off and attacked me like that!" Katara ranted as she stirred some celery into the soup. She continued to mutter under her breath, her tone becoming more acidic as she continued on.

Jin who was wistfully thinking of what the others might be doing in their trip around town, was only half-hearted in her efforts in paying attention to Katara's heated rant. Katara and Toph, during one of their training sessions with Aang, got into another argument after Toph accidentally earthbent a rock at Katara's way. Toph and the boys decided to leave the seething Katara and they went off to town, with Sokka and Toph especially taking great effort in rubbing it in Jin's face, to explore and have some fun.

She nodded wordlessly.

"I mean I didn't provoke her or anything—''

"Katara, I don't think Toph meant to hit you with a rock," Jin said, finally snapping back from her thoughts.

"Please! You know Toph! She'd just like some_ excuse_ to pummel with a rock!" she snapped, stirring the soup more violently. Bits of celery and pork began to fly everywhere.

"Katara, she's really young so maybe you should….be a little more understanding?" Jin said ducking from a piece of carrot. These past few days the two girls only had each other for company and so far they found each other to be enjoyable enough. The two girls were often left behind, mostly because Jin was banned from going about in town with her Wanted Poster becoming more rampantly displayed and also because, Katara was often tasked to prepare their meals and according to Toph and Sokka, "she often ruined the fun" in their trips.

Katara liked it that she finally got to spend time with a girl who was old enough to understand boy troubles and the like and the two often spent much of their time together discussing such things. Katara noted however, that whenever she teased Jin about her boyfriend she would suddenly get a sad look on her face. Katara decided that maybe something bad happened between them and although she was extremely curious, she knew other people's boundaries and when it is not the right time to push them.

Jin, likewise, enjoyed Katara's company because Katara was the epitome of a perfect companion—she was kind, caring and she listened to you with great zeal whenever you talked though Jin had to admit, there were many times where she yearned for Toph and Sokka's playful antics. Katara wasn't the kind of person who understood or made jokes too well or who liked to mess around.

"She's out of control, that's what she is!" Katara spat as she covered the flame with a stone cap and set the cover over the pot.

"Well—''

"And can you believe that she left me to clean up after _her mess?" _

"Katara, I'm sure that Toph is only trying to mess with you. She….loves to play around," Jin tried to explain as helped Katara set the bowls up.

"I have half a mind to—''

"We're back!" they heard the loud, booming voice of Sokka. Jin and Katara looked up from their conversation and saw that Sokka, Aang and Toph had returned their arms laden with provisions and with Toph sporting a smug smile.

"Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff ?" Katara said, clearly startled enough to forget about her heated rant. Jin stared at them with a twinge of jealousy.

"You guys had a fun day?" she asked trying to sound indifferent as Sokka settled all their stuff down.

"Oh, we had an awesome day! An awesome day you could've shared with us…._if you didn't have a wanted poster!" _Sokka snickered, rubbing it in Jin's face that she could not go about as openly as before. Sokka took extreme pleasure in Jin's predicament and never failed to make her jealous.

Jin stuck her tongue out and said, "Well we had a fun day too."

"Doing what? Cooking?" Toph laughed.

Sokka's eyes widened and he said, "_Cooking!_ Katara how many times have I told you to never let Jin near our food? Did you let her cook with you? Did you let her touch it?"

Jin huffed and said, "Hey! My cooking improved—''

"Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?" Katara demanded more insistently, silencing their conversation.

Aang looked a little nervous but after much prodding from Sokka, he said, "Toph got us money. She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells around all sneaky-like."

"She used earthbending to win the game. _Classic!"_ Sokka said, emboldened by Aang telling Katara.

Katara did not look happy. Her forehead wrinkled and she said, "_Ah_, so she cheated."

Everyone tensed considerably, aware that another showdown between Toph and Katara was coming up.

"Hey, I only cheated because he was cheating. I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that ?" Toph defensively demanded.

"I'm just saying, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing," Katara argued.

"Why ? Because it's fun, and you _hate_ fun ," Toph mockingly said.

Katara huffed indignantly.

"I don't hate fun," she protested. She suddenly grabbed an unaware Momo and plopped him on her head. She weakly presented it to them, "See Fun?"

Momo scrambled off her head with an indignant squawk while Toph scoffed loudly prompting Katara to shoot a venomous look towards her.

In an eager attempt to distract himself from the impending battle, Aang quickly turned to Jin and said, "So….um…..while walking around town, we found something you might be interested in."

Aang procured a paper and handed it over to Jin who paled after looking at it.

"Caught our eye. You do look like each other you know," Sokka said as Jin continued to stare at the paper blankly.

"Huh? What's going on?" Katara demanded, momentarily forgetting her spat with Toph.

"This….this…this is my brother," Jin said faintly. She showed the picture to Katara whose mouth formed a small 'o' upon seeing it. Jin's brother looked very much like her—same carefree smile, bright wide eyes and despite being painted all serious and withdrawn he still looked very happy. He looked slightly different though with his perfectly straight nose and a nice lift of a chin but he still had Jin's spirit.

"Yeah, we figured as much. We didn't want to worry you but Aang thinks that it's important that you know," Sokka said shooting a look at Aang that clearly said that he didn't completely agree with Aang's idea.

Jin continued to stare at the wanted poster, her brow furrowed for awhile before finally saying, "You can't let me stay here any longer! You have to take me with you!"

Sokka's jaw dropped.

"What? B-but you can't!" Sokka protested.

"I have to. This means he hasn't been captured yet. How come I haven't seen this before?" Jin frowned.

"Probably because he doesn't seem as important. You know his bounty is half-less than yours. For some reason the Fire Nation wants to capture you more," Aang said.

Jin looked worried. She bit her lip and said insistently, "Next time you go to town, you have to let me come with you!"

"_Absolutely not!_ How are you going to find your brother if you come to town with us?" Sokka demanded.

"He could just be like us! Hiding, waiting, bidding his time for someone to find him! He could be in disguise! I could go ask some people around! There's a big chance they might've seen him!" Jin argued.

"I knew it! _I knew it! _I knew this was a bad idea to show her the stupid poster! Why is it no one listens to me?" Sokka wailed as Jin continued to plough on determinedly, giving more excuses as to why she needed to go.

"Look Jin, the reason why I showed you this picture because you deserved to know. He's your brother—'' Aang said as he stared pointedly at Sokka. Sokka rolled his eyes.

Jin smiled at Aang.

"—but I don't want any of my friends to get captured. I can't risk endangering you. You have to stay here," Aang said a little more firmly.

Jin's face fell.

"But you endanger yourself and Sokka and Toph and Katara all the time by going around town!" Jin said stubbornly.

"First of all, everyone thinks that Aang is _dead_, Jin," Sokka said in a matter-of-fact tone, elbowing Aang away before he could speak.

"Still—''

"And secondly,_ everything_ is always about Aang. No one ever notices his extremely helpful but really, really under-appreciated sidekicks—''

"Hey, watch it! I'm no sidekick!" Toph inserted.

"I doubt anyone even recognizes us! And thirdly, we don't have wanted posters plastered on every Fire Nation bulletin," Sokka smugly finished.

Jin wrinkled her nose at him.

"You don't understand Sokka! It's not your sibling in mortal danger!" Jin said.

"Jin, don't worry. Just stay here and try to relax. I solemnly give you an Avatar promise that I'll look for your brother," Aang said, interrupting Sokka before he could say anything else.

Jin nodded though she didn't look too re-assured.

"And as for you Katara, I'll also personally make you an Avatar promise that we won't make a habit of doing these scams," Aang said turning to look at Katara.

Katara nodded though she still looked suspicious. She said, "Well I hope you do. Things like cheating are only fun during the first few times but they get more dangerous if you keep on doing it…."

She stopped talking after realizing that no one was listening to her. Sokka had already attacked the soup while Toph was messing around near a mud pool. Aang had gone off to practice more drills set by Toph. Only Jin remained and she had one of those absent-minded looks on her face again. She was staring off into the distance, her eyes big and wide and deep, as if she was desperately thinking of a plan. Her eyes darted to and fro, side to side restlessly.

Katara knew all too well what she was thinking about. Silently she padded towards Jin, poured some soup into an empty bowl and handed it to her saying empathically, "Don't worry. Maybe next week, I'll make my famous pork rolls so that Sokka will busy himself by stuffing his face all day and I'll time it just right when Aang and Toph are practicing, we can sneak off to town to go looking for your brother."

Jin jumped, slightly startled that Katara had made such a proposition. Katara was always careful and cautious and she never went about doing things that Aang might dislike. Jin stared at her disbelievingly and sputtered, "B-but….Aang said…..he made an Avatar promise…."

"But I didn't," Katara said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"But Aang said I can't go. You never—''

"I never what?" Katara demanded, looking annoyed.

"But you never—''

"Ugh! Why does everyone always think that? I can break orders too!" Katara said wearily.

"I didn't mean it in that way!" Jin guiltily said.

"I can have fun too!" Katara defensively said.

"Of course you can! Do you really mean what you said?" Jin asked, hope sparking into her eyes.

Katara smiled, placed a warm and comforting hand on Jin's shoulders and said, "Of course I do. Sokka has gotten himself into a lot of jams and no matter how dangerous it is, I've always helped him. I understand how you feel perfectly."

The two girls stared at each other, both smiling secretively. The two had forged a bond over the times they spent with each other alone. They were similar in many ways—they both had annoying elder brothers, they were too optimistic, they cared too much at times—but they were also different. There were many times wherein Jin would look at Katara or Katara would look at Jin with a look in their eyes that clearly said that they did not understand what the other girl was thinking. But still, they were the only two girls whose ages were closer to each other's so they meshed comfortably well.

Their silent moment was ruined when some mud suddenly whacked the top of Katara's head. A loud, child-like laughter boomed in the background and Katara's nostrils flared.

She hissed, "Toph…."

* * *

Zuko's life was perfect—he had nothing to do but to lounge about in the palace gardens or train himself in the training room, the servants were waiting for him hand and foot, his father was talking to him and everyone around him made him feel important. His life was the epitome of perfection and he was absolutely miserable.

The endless days of doing nothing bored him and numbed his mind. The servants annoyed him, with their constant presence and interference. And talking his father felt empty and meaningless. Zuko could not help feeling restless; it was as if nothing satisfied him. He could barely sleep, plagued often by horrible dreams of people screaming and dying and being swallowed by the flames. And Azula's mocking smile taunted him, making him feel even more anxious.

He didn't hear anymore of the assassin he hired to kill the Avatar and for some reason he didn't want to. He wanted to push any thoughts of the Avatar out of his mind. It was all too stressful.

Zuko stopped himself once he realized that he had wandered subconsciously into the kitchen. He became fully aware that dinner was almost upon them. Zuko wearily sat down in his place in the dinner table and drummed his fingers as the servants moved silently about, setting plates and chopsticks. He waited for his father and sister to arrive and after a few minutes or so, Azula trickled him and she greeted him with her usual mocking smile. Their father came in a little later and he merely nodded at each of their direction before sitting and beginning to eat his food.

Dinner with his father and sister has been extremely awkward lately. Zuko had been gone from the palace, from the Fire Nation, for about three years. He was no longer up to date with the politics, the new military strategies employed, the new Earth Kingdom villages and cities conquered. He had tried to catch up but he failed miserably since he couldn't concentrate. Whenever he read about an Earth kingdom village being sacked he thought of Jin and how she reacted when she found out about his real identity and how miserable she must've been for the past few days. Whenever he heard of a new general rising in rank, he thought of his uncle and how awful it must be to sleep in that grime-infested prison cell. Whenever he looked at military strategies, his brain just becomes fuzzy and stops altogether. It was too much for him to bear.

So dinner conversations were limited to him picking at his food and Azula and his father talking and droning on and on and on about military plans and agendas. Zuko scowled. That only made him more jealous of Azula.

"I've heard that another rebellion broke out in Gaoling father," Azula said mildly. She was never too animated whenever she spoke with their father. Conversations with him were always subdued and sentences never had to be too long. Fire Lord Ozai easily lost patience and interest.

Their father nodded, looking cold and austere. He said in a cool voice, "Yes. Earth kingdom people are such a nuisance. _So difficult to crush._ And surprisingly, they're just as slippery. It has come to my attention that the leaders of the Ba Sing Se Rebellion have not been caught yet."

Zuko paled and he grasped his chopsticks tighter after realizing that the question was directed to him. Azula looked slightly annoyed but didn't protest too much. Zuko began to feel nervous. His father rarely addressed him.

"Actually, we have captured one of the Leaders of the Resistance and….and we've made progress with the other two," Zuko said, his voice sounding uneven.

His father quirked a brow at him and said, "Yes….yes. Very….commendable job, you two with what you did in Ba Sing Se."

"Thank you father," Azula demurely said though Zuko could see a smug smile forming in her lips.

"Of course, I expect nothing less from my own children, born out of my own flesh and blood. But you Zuko, my son, I have always expected, even from the beginning, for great things to happen to you. It was admirable, truly admirable, with what you did in Ba Sing Se," Ozai said looking straight at Zuko. Zuko's spirits rose high as he heard the compliment ring again and again in his ears. From her seat, though looking calm, Azula clenched her jaw, obviously jealous.

"Thank you," Zuko said a little more firmly.

Ozai sniffed and said, "Nonsense. You've brought great honor to my name by going against your treacherous uncle and slaying the Avatar."

Zuko's heart stopped and he clenched his chopsticks tighter.

For some reason, the praise felt wrong in his ears.

* * *

"Guys, I think these scams have gone far enough. If you keep doing them, something bad is gonna happen," Katara declared as she surveyed the bags of money that splayed out across her. She looked severely angry with her folded brows and her hands on her hips.

"Could you for once stop being such a sourpuss and just lighten up ?" Toph snapped, irritated with all of Katara's nagging. Jin who was busy with a conversation about a hawk Sokka wished to purchase looked up and gulped once she realized that Katara was shooting daggers at Toph's direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You think I should be more like you . Like some wild child !" Katara huffed.

"Yeah, maybe. Maybe then, you'd see how great we have it. I mean, look at us. We're traveling around the world, making easy money, having fun, with no parents to tell us what to do!" Toph spat back.

Katara stared at Toph before leaning back, crossing her arms and saying, "Ah, I see. You're acting like this because of your parents."

Toph could barely react. Finally, she said dismissively, "Whatever."

"They were controlling over you, so you ran away, and now you act like your parents don't exist. You act like you hate them, but you don't. You just feel guilty," Katara said in realization. Jin cringed, knowing the inevitable that is about to happen. Katara had just used her "I'm-a-psychologist" voice.

"I _do_ hate them!" Toph growled.

"I don't think so. I think you miss them. But you just don't want to deal with that, so instead, you act like this crazy person!"

"Look. I ran away to help Aang!" Toph said through gritted teeth.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. You're endangering all of us! You're going to stop this right now!" Katara said.

"I can do whatever I want Katara," Toph said trying to gain control over her rising voice.

"No, you can't! Just because you're parents aren't here doesn't mean that you could do anything you want! Jin is stuck here doing nothing even when she could be having fun with you guys and you know why? It's because she knows she'll put Aang in danger if she goes with them! You're no exception!" Katara raged as she gestured at Jin.

Jin looked away and murmured, "Um….Katara….you don't really need to—''

"I'm just trying to have fun! Something which you could take a page from!"

"These scams put us all at risk, and we don't need that. We've already got some third-eyed freak after us," Katara snapped, her voice rising higher and higher.

"Speaking of that third-eyed freak…I think I've come up with a name for him. What do you think of…"Sparky-Sparky Boom Man"!" Sokka said, interrupting Toph before she could say something else to Katara.

Everyone looked at him clearly unimpressed. Jin snickered, relieved that some of the tension had been broken. She elbowed him and said, "Are you serious? Sparky-Sparky Boom Man?"

"Hey! I worked hard on that name!" Sokka defensively said.

"Sparky-Sparky Boom Man sounds ridiculous," Jin continued glad to finally get back at Sokka for all those times that he made her jealous.

Sokka pouted at her and said, "Just think about it."

"We have enough money. You need to stop this!" Katara said silencing Sokka. Apparently she wasn't in the mood to make fun.

"I'll stop when I want to stop, and not when you tell me!" Toph yelled before turning around and storming off. Katara scowled before stomping off into her own tent.

But before she left she whirled around to face Aang and she snippily, "You gave me your Avatar Promise!"

And with that, she left a very abashed looking Aang.

"Speaking of money, I'm off to spend some. I'd bring you along Jin but….you know you have a wanted poster," Sokka said in a teasing sing-song voice as he poked Jin. "See you guys later."

Jin grumpily stared at him, thoroughly jealous. When Sokka had disappeared she suddenly remembered something. She faced Aang and said, "I'm pretty sure you gave me an Avatar Promise too. Hear anything about my brother?"

Aang suddenly looked nervous. He began to rub his hair and he said, "Umm…..I'll get back to you on that one. You know what? I think I'll talk to Katara. To you know….cool her down a little bit…."

And with that he sprinted off leaving a very disappointed Jin.

* * *

Katara scowled as she meticulously scrubbed a small brass pot, "Honestly, if they could just see the consequences of what they're doing…."

While Aang practiced more of his waterbending and earthbending Toph and Sokka had gone off again to "look around" town but Jin knew all too well what they planned on doing and apparently so did Katara because she spent the last thirty minutes cleaning all their wares, Sokka's tent and Appa's saddle in angry stupor. A day ago, Sokka had bought a hawk with all the money Toph got for them. Jin thought that the hawk was incredibly useless considering the fact that Sokka did not even know how sending a message with it worked. Katara and Toph had gotten into another argument today—again, it was about scamming—and Katara decided to relive her anger by going on a cleaning spree.

"And look at that! She goes about like a rooster-pig! She couldn't even clean up after herself!" Katara ranted as her eye caught sight of Toph's ramshackle earth ten. She immediately started stomping towards Toph's tent.

Jin stiffened. Yesterday, she had found out that there was a wanted poster of Toph . She was having an internal debate on whether she should inform Katara or not but she decided that it would probably be best for all if Katara didn't know _yet. _

"Um….Katara….I don't think you should be cleaning Toph's tent up….." Jin nervously said as she trailed after Katara.

"Humphf! I'm just trying to help her out…." Katara said as she entered the tent.

"But….but Toph really hates it when people go through her stuff," Jin weakly argued.

Katara's nose rose higher in the air and she said, "Only people who have something to hide think like that—_wait a minute!"_

Katara spun around and faced Jin, her eyes searching and critical.

"Um….what?" Jin nervously tittered.

"Toph_ is_ hiding something!" she declared.

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous…heh…why would she hide something from you?" Jin said as she backed away.

"And you know something about it!" Katara accusingly said as she pointed a finger at Jin.

"What? I don't…..I don't know anything! Why would I know anything? They never tell me….erm…anything," Jin said as she forced a nervous chuckled.

"Ugh! Nobody ever picks my side!"

"Katara, why don't you teach me how to make soup, eh?" Jin said trying to desperately distract Katara.

But Katara wasn't buying it.

Katara whirled around and huffed, "Oooh….something's up, right?"

"Katara! Wait!" Jin said as she moved forward and gently touched Katara's hand.

Katara shrugged Jin's hand off and said, " When I get to the bottom of this…."

"Toph will not like this—''

But Katara was already searching through Toph's belongings, completely ignoring Jin. She flung them around, muttering under her breath while Jin weakly protested from the back. Katara seemed ready to give up after finding nothing but a pair of dirty socks and some clothes but paused once she saw a piece of paper, hurriedly folded and tucked into one of Toph's pockets.

Jin paled and she said, "Katara—''

"I. Can't. Believe. _This!"_ Katara growled as she unfurled the paper.

"It's not what you think," Jin said.

Katara's face colored as she stood up and stomped outside saying loudly as she did, "It's exactly what I think! When Toph comes back she's going to be in _so much trouble!"_

* * *

Jin waited nervously behind Katara as Katara positioned herself with her arms crossed and the wanted poster, rolled at the back. Aang had come back, blissfully unaware of the fight that was to come. He sat on a long, toying around with an air ball he made. When Sokka and Toph returned, their arms loaded with money, Katara said in a low voice, "Well, look who decided to join us. Where have you two been off scamming again ?"

"Yes, we were," Toph answered mildly.

Katara raised a brow and said, "And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all ?"

"No, I don't."

"_Really ?"_

"Yes, really," Toph sniffed as she dropped all her money.

Katara's left eye twitched. Jin had tried to convince Katara to lay easy on Toph but Katara declared that if Toph saw the error of her ways then she wouldn't be too hard on her. Katara continued to look at Toph, waiting for her to admit that scamming is extremely dangerous. The two faced each other for a long time, with Sokka, Aang and Jin waiting nervously in the background. When it became apparent that Toph had not obviously seen the error of her ways, Katara produced the wanted poster, "Well then, what's this ?"

Sokka's jaw dropped. He faced Jin and accusingly whispered, "You were supposed to keep Katara from finding out!"

"Well, I'm sorry! But she was cleaning some of Toph's stuff!"

"That's no excuse—wait, you mean she spent the whole day cleaning? Did she clean my socks like I asked her to?" Sokka asked, forgetting himself for awhile.

"No, she made _me_ clean them. And believe me, your socks aren't a dream to clean," Jin said as she wrinkled her nose. In order to appease Katara's sour mood, Jin volunteered to wash everyone's clothes up but she immediately regretted her decision once she got to Sokka's socks.

"Hey! The smell is not that bad!"

"_It is._ And besides, I'm not the only one who didn't keep a promise. You guys were supposed to be looking for my brother!" Jin said.

Sokka sighed and said, "Look, we're kind of busy right now—''

"Busy doing what? Scams?" Jin demanded.

"No!" Sokka protested.

"You know I'm starting to agree with Katara—''

"Oh no! I knew we shouldn't have let her spend so much time with you! She's sucking out the fun in you!"

"No, she's not! I'm just saying—''

"You went through my stuff! You had no right!" Toph yelled silencing the two of them. Jin cringed while Sokka blustered.

"Your stuff was messy, and I was just straightening up and I happened to stumble across it," Katara spat back defensively.

"That's a lie! You're _lying_, Katara!" Toph said her voice rising octaves and octaves higher.

"Fine! It's a lie. But you've been so out of control lately, I knew something was up. I knew you were hiding something, and you were," Katara ranted.

Toph growled at her before slapping the poster off Katara's hand. Sokka gave a worried yelp as Katara stared at the poster on the ground, completely dumbfounded.

"Uh oh…." Jin murmured.

Finally Katara recovered. She snapped as Toph stomped her way to her tent, "Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, really, _Mom_ ? Or what are you going to do? Send me to my room ?" Toph demanded as she whirled around.

"Guys, please don't…" Aang began.

"I wish I could," Katara deadpanned.

"See? This is exactly why you were supposed to keep Katara from finding out," Sokka said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up, Sokka!" Jin snapped.

"Well, you _can't_. Because you're not my mom, and you're not _their_ mom!" Toph said as she pointed at Aang, Sokka and Jin. Aang waved his hands in protest and tried to say something but Katara's angry voice drowned his out again.

"I never said I was!" Katara defensively shot back.

"No, but you certainly _act_ like it. You think it's your jobto boss everyone around, but it's not. You're just a regular kid like the rest of us, so stop acting like you can tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want!" Toph yelled.

"I don't act that way!" Katara, severely chagrined, said.

She then spun around to face Sokka and said in a shrill and anxious voice, "Sokka, do I act motherly ?"

Sokka stepped back, completely alarmed. He thought about his answer and finally decided that discretion and being neutral was so much better than honesty.

"Hey - I'm staying out of this one," Sokka said as he raised his hands up like a shield.

"What do you think, Aang ? Do I act like a mom ?" Katara demanded as she faced Aang.

Aang nervously dug at his eye and said, "Well, I..."

"Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk!" Katara scolded.

"Yes, ma'am!" Aang chastened.

Toph gave a loud 'ha!' and Katara, realizing what she did, turned to look at Jin and said a little uncertainly, "I don't act like I'm your mom right Jin?"

Jin looked away and said, "Um—''

"Ugh! Everyone knows what their answer is but they're just too afraid to tell you! What are you guys afraid of? That she'll send you to your room? Or she'll ground you for a month?" Toph snapped at the three of them.

"Ugh! I can't believe you! Stop acting so…so…so…_disrespectful!" _ Katara crowed.

"I can't be around you right now!" Toph yelled as she entered her tent and earthbent it close.

"Well, I can't be around you!" Katara yelled, taken aback as she stormed away to the opposite side.

Sokka's new Hawk, which he had named "Hawky", squawked plaintively as the two girls entered their tents in an angry huff.

"I know, Hawky. Why can't they just get along ?" Sokka sighed as silence filled their little camp.

Jin's shoulders dropped and she said, "So….what do we do now?"

"Oh….we'll just give it some time. Toph and Katara fight all the time," Aang said trying to sound optimistic.

Jin and Sokka stared at him disbelievingly. Jin said, "I don't know Aang. This…..this sounds pretty serious."

Aang shook his head and confidently said, "_Please._ Considering the other fights they have had, this is nothing. I'm pretty sure that by tomorrow, they'll be friends again."

But Aang's prediction didn't exactly turn out to be true.

Toph and Katara didn't seem to be on the road of reconciliation. They never spoke to each other, they ignored each other's existence and the pair made sure to keep out of each other's way and refused to do anything with each other. The whole camp was enveloped in a thick, uncomfortable silence as Sokka, Aang and Jin tried to keep on neutral ground. Everyone suffered—but no one suffered more than Sokka.

Katara had now refused to cook. She declared that she refused to slave away over a burning pot for an ungrateful wild child who didn't have a shred of responsibility in her. Toph, although surprisingly able for a blind person, was still incapable of handling kitchen wares and kindling fires. Much to Sokka's horror, mealtimes were now officially Jin's responsibility. And Jin's cooking had not improved in the least bit—as Sokka discovered. They were all forced to chew down Jin's many horrible concoctions and after just three days of eating nothing but Jin's cooking, Sokka's stomach started to feel gassy. He knew that Katara felt the same because she took many more trips in the loo but Katara was just too stubborn to cook for them and _Toph_ by extension.

Finally, on the fourth day Sokka couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't take it anymore! How long is this going to last?" Sokka groaned as Jin fed them her idea of a meat loaf.

Jin observed the two girls sitting resentfully apart from each other and sighed, "This looks like it's going to be a long siege."

Sokka scowled and said peevishly, "Well, we're going to have to cut it short because if I have to eat your food for one more time—''

"Hey!" Jin protested loudly.

"—than I'll probably die! We have to get them to talk to each other again!" Sokka declared as he set Jin's meat loaf aside. Jin frowned at him and looked at her meat loaf with furrowed brows.

"And how are we going to do that? Neither of them seems willing to make the first move," Aang observed.

Sokka looked off into the distance, his eyes deep with concentration. Suddenly, his eyes flashed, his lips curled into a secretive smile and his eyes trailed over to Hawky who was resting comfortably on his arm. He leaned forward and said, "Jin, Aang, you want to test out my messenger hawk with me ? I've got an idea."

"Sure," Aang eagerly said, knowing full well that Sokka had an idea planned.

"I'm gonna send a note to Katara and say it's from Toph, who wants to apologize. Then everyone will be friends again," Sokka said, puffing his chest out proudly, obviously thinking that he had just made an extremely brilliant plan.

Jin, however, immediately noted the giant hole in it. She said, "Sokka, I don't think—''

"I gotta say, Sokka, you continue to impress me with your ideas," Aang said, enthusiastic that a plan was made in order for Katara and Toph to be friends again.

Sokka shrugged, self-impressed, "Eh, it's a gift."

He then turned to Jin and ordered, "Okay, Jin get a pen and paper and write everything I say—''

"Sokka, this isn't going to work," Jin protested.

Sokka ignored her and said, "I can't believe Katara's sourpussy-ness is rubbing off you. Now get a paper—''

"I'm telling you that this won't—''

"Here! I got the paper for you myself! Now right this down—''

"I won't do it because your plan is stupid! This won't work, Sokka! And why can't you write it down?"

"Because you have a nicer handwriting than me and it will look more like Toph wrote it if a girly handwriting is on it! Now right this!" Sokka said, handing her a pen.

Jin scowled and tried to protest one last time, "Sokka—''

"Dear Katara. Sorry for everything. Your friend, Toph," Sokka dictated.

Jin opened her mouth, ready to protest again but after seeing Sokka's determined expression, she sighed, hunched over and wrote down what Sokka said in a neat, tidy scrawl. She muttered as Sokka took it, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Sokka, completely enchanted with his idea, grabbed the paper, rolled it up and slid it into the dispatch tube. He then began to make a series of gestures with his hand.

"What's with all that?" Aang demanded.

"I've been practicing on training Hawky. Check this out," Sokka proudly said. He then heaved his arm up and Hawky immediately sailed over to Katara. Katara opened the dispatch tube unfurled the paper and read it quickly. Sokka smiled wile Aang see-sawed on his heels in anticipation.

Finally, Katara stood up, whirled around to face the boys and said angrily, "I _know_ this is from you, Sokka. Toph _can't write_."

She then faced Jin and said peevishly, "I can't believe you're actually participating in something this stupid! Ugh, you're all driving me crazy!"

She then turned on her heel and walked away.

"I told you so," Jin smugly hissed.

"I can't believe we forgot Toph can't write," Aang sighed.

"Yep, you guys are idiots. Now, Katara's mad at me too," Jin sighed.

"Look, this isn't over yet," Sokka said.

Aang rubbed his head and said, "I guess plan B is, we send a note to Toph pretending it's from Katara….."

Jin rolled her eyes as Sokka and Aang continued to make more ridiculous plans. She sighed and her eye caught Katara's sight. She was stomping her way behind Sokka's tent.

Jin looked at Aang and Sokka and said, "I'll go somewhere first…."

She sprinted over towards Katara who was angrily waterbending some water into clay jars.

"Um….Katara?"

"What? If you're here to tell me to make friends with Toph then you're wasting your time! I'm not apologizing just because I was looking out for her well-being!" Katara grumped.

Jin shrank but she continued on in a firm voice, "Actually….I'm thinking that you need some space from everyone for awhile…."

"Tell me about it! No one ever appreciates what I do for them! I cook for them! I clean all their stinky clothes! I pack everything for them when we leave and you know what I get?"

"Um…"

"Nothing! No one ever sides with me because they'd rather side with someone fun…..I can be fun too! Right? _Right?" _Katara's voice cracked and her hands dropped to her sides as she lost momentum.

Jin smiled weakly, gave Katara a gentle pat and said, "Um….actually, I came over here because I was thinking…maybe we should just do a jump start ahead on the search for my brother…"

Katara's eyes flashed in remembrance. Her lips curled into a big and slow smile and she said, her voice considerably brighter, "Yeah…I did say that we were going to go around town together…"

"And no time could be more perfect! Aang and Sokka are busy plotting—er, I mean doing stuff and Toph—'' Katara's face darkened so Jin immediately corrected herself. "—um, Momo and Appa are off playing somewhere and Hawky's….Hawky's flying around…"

Katara nodded and said, "You're right. No time could be more perfect. Give me three minutes to freshen up and get some cash…."

As soon as Katara washed her face and Jin dusted herself off, the two girls quietly sneaked away from their little camp, unnoticed by everyone else.

"Maybe we could buy a bouquet and leave a little not and put it in front of Katara's tent…" Sokka suggested as Jin and Katara tiptoed past them.

Katara wrinkled her nose.

"Sokka, for the last time, Toph can't write…." Aang wearily said.

Sokka's face fell but it suddenly brightened. He said, "I know! We could say that she made us write for her!"

Katara shook her head and tried to restrain herself from freezing the two in a block of ice.

* * *

Katara's mood rose seven stories higher as she and Jin wandered around the town. Truth be told, the girls immediately forgot their main purpose once they stepped into the market. Katara, glad to get away from their tension-filled camp, relished the feeling of spending a normal day for once without getting into another row with Toph. Jin, on the other hand, was extremely happy to be out and about in the open after being cooped up for so long. She had taken one of Aang's cloaks and drew the hood over her face as she and Katara walked around. The cloak made her feel hotter but it was such a small matter compared to feeling of freedom.

She and Katara spent most of the morning wandering around stalls and window shopping. They tried on a bunch of clothes in a nearby shop, looked through a jewelry store and bought some spicy bagels. They were having a perfectly good time until Katara ruined everything by asking that fateful question. While trying one a bracelet, Katara suddenly looked at Jin and said in a serious tone, "Do you think that I really act like your mom?"

Jin suddenly felt uncomfortable. She pulled her hood over her face and muttered, "Um…hey look! That dragon bracelet looks pretty nice—''

"Jin, please. You don't have to be afraid of offending me or anything. Just be honest. I really want to know," Katara said. She gave the bracelet back, grabbed Jin's elbow and steered her off away from the stall. The two began to walk away.

"Um….Katara—''

"I mean, I always say that it doesn't bother me but….actually…._it kind of does._ I just really want to know if I really do act motherly," Katara said confidingly.

Katara's tone of voice got to Jin. Jin's hand shot up to Katara's shoulder and she admitted honestly, "Actually Katara….you _do_ act motherly…."

Katara sighed and her shoulders dropped.

"But the truth is….I kind of like it," Jin sighed.

Katara stared at her questioningly.

"You acting like our mom….it's not always a bad thing—though it does get annoying sometimes," Jin chuckled.

Katara huffed and nodded for Jin to continue.

"What I mean is…you sort of boss us around and you're always in our business and it gets…..kinda annoying," Jin said trying her best to explain things.

"I'm just looking out for all of you!" Katara defensively said.

Jin sighed and said, 'Yes, I know but—''

"You leaves your things around, someone always leaves something whenever you pack your things yourselves and I'm really sorry—but how would you survive without my cooking? You _need_ someone to look out for you!" Katara continued.

Jin gave a small smile and continued, "You're right."

Katara blinked at Jin in surprise, not expecting that answer.

Jin looked away and said in a small voice, "You're….you're kind and sweet and compassionate and you listen to all our problems and help us without even batting an eyelash. The truth is Katara….I….I like it when you act motherly sometimes…"

Katara stared at her in surprise.

"It's just that….it's been a long time since I've seen my mother and with the war going on and everything else….it's just to have a nice and warm and comforting presence for all of us," Jin said, turning to look at Katara. Her voice started to crack.

"Really?" Katara's voice was barely a whisper.

"_Really._ Toph's not admitting it but…I think that she likes it when you act that way too," Jin said as she squeezed Katara's hand.

Katara gave Jin a warm hug and said, "Thanks."

"I mean it, Katara. It's really nice to know that someone out there still cares for you," Jin said. Her voice was calm and steady but here eyes suddenly became glassy. The two girls hugged each other again, before resuming their little trip with much more zest this time. Some of the prior tension and discomfort had been relieved, and with that all gone, their trip around town was a much a happier one.

"Whoa. Look at the sun. We've better start looking around for your brother," Katara said suddenly remembering their purpose as the sun slowly started to sail downwards.

Jin nodded, aware that they had just spent the better half of the morning wandering around. Her eyes trailed over to a nearby bulletin. The bulletin was tacked with announcements, several wanted posters and advertisements. At least three of Jin's poster was plastered everywhere. Jin drew her hood closer, nervousness and anxiety seeping into her. Her brother had only one poster and it was tacked at the far left corner where other papers were crowding around it.

"Where do you think we should start?" Katara asked as she stood beside Jin.

Jin stiffened as she realized that they weren't the only people examining the bulletin. To her right, a tall beefy man with his left arm covered in tattoos stood and scanned the wanted posters, his eyes interested specifically in the bounty. To her left a man wearing a straw hat also stood examining the more wanted persons. Jin, with her drawn cloak, didn't look to different from the crowd she was in.

The beefy man suddenly gave a gruff huff, before spreading his hand out and grabbing Jin's wanted poster from the wall. Jin stiffened. He then spun on his heels and started to walk away into a low, gray hut made of cobblestones. The place looked shady with its drawn curtains and mysterious smoke billowing from the top.

Jin narrowed her eyes and she said gravely, "We're going to a place where everyone knows exactly where everyone else is."

Katara's jaw dropped. She pointed to the place and sputtered, "_There?_ B-but that looks like….a bar!"

But Jin was already striding towards there, her eyes determined and her footsteps sure and steady.

* * *

"I don't think we should be here," Katara whispered as she tried to look inconspicuous.

She was very unhappy that Jin had decided to go into the bar. It was loud, the men were rowdy and leering and it was very dimly lit. Katara felt as if being in the room was like sitting on the time bomb—the characters in there were shady and creepy and were just waiting for the right moment to jump on two defenseless girls. Jin however, maintained a calm façade, though she kept looking around. Her hood had been drawn closer over her face so her facial features were unrecognizable.

Katara wanted to sit on a table near the door for a fast escape route in case any situation came up but Jin insisted on sitting on the counter.

"If there's anyone in this whole place who knows _everything,_ it's the one who runs it. The bartender," Jin firmly said as she tugged Katara's hand and led her to the counter.

"And how would you know?" Katara wondered out loudly, curiosity taking over her.

Jin coughed suspiciously and avoided Katara's gaze.

"Wait! You've been in a bar before, _haven't you_? You're no better than Sokka!" Katara said narrowing her eyes.

Jin held her hands up and defensively said, "Hey! You try living with only boys for most of your life and try avoiding going to a bar!"

Katara didn't look ready to let this go but at that moment the bartender, interrupted them.

"What'll it be?" the bartender leered at the two of them.

"Mango juice," Katara prompted loudly. Her answer caused quite a few stares since it had been awhile since someone ordered something non-alcoholic. The bartender stared at her blankly before nodding and facing Jin, "How 'bout you?"

Jin shook her head wordlessly. The bartender also gave her a curious stare but since Jin looked so imposing with her drawn hood and mysterious demeanor, he didn't push it. He started to prepare Katara's drinks, shooting them peculiar looks every once in awhile.

"Don't squirm so much. It'll attract attention," Jin said in a low voice.

"Let's just get what we came for and move on," Katara murmured.

"We have to listen around first. My brothers always tell me that the meatiest information you can get is from the talk amongst the people," Jin whispered back.

Katara begged to differ but knowing Jin and how stubborn and determined she is. She didn't bother to argue anymore. Katara sighed and watched as Jin cocked her ear to the side and listened intently to two patrons talking earnestly as the bartender continued to prepare Katara's drink.

"I've heard that Ozai's training his army harder than ever," the first one said.

"No kidding, eh? Guess he's really serious 'bout the whole thing. 'Specially after two Resistance Leaders escaped from him," the second one said.

"It's givin' him bad rep, that's why he wants to catch 'em so bad."

"Hey, why's the girl's bounty more than the other one? Figured the boy would be worth more."

Jin huffed indignantly.

"People are sayin' that she hit a raw nerve on the princess in Ba Sing Se. And everyone knows that you don't hit raw nerves with the princess…" the first one shrugged.

"No kidding, eh? Whew. I wouldn't want to get into the princess' death wish. She's scary."

"But that's not the only thing I've heard."

"Eh?"

"I've heard that it has something to do with her brother, Prince Zuko."

"That dumb rumor? You know what I think? Complete nonsense."

"Hey, you never know. Even with that ugly scar on his face, boy's got looks. Honestly, my daughter could not stop yammering about how handsome and how great and how awesome he is….."

Jin's jaw visibly tightened at the two continued their conversation.

"But still, the girl doesn't look like someone who would be that stupid," the second one argued.

"Hey, I'm not sayin' squat. I'm just sayin' that somethin' went on between Prince Zuko and that Earth Kingdom girl…"

"Aw….you're full of dung."

"No, you are, you dimbulb. You been deaf lately? I mean, she hasn't been captured yet….most fugitives would've been in three weeks time. Sure sign that somethin' up…."

"Only your smell is up."

"Shut up! I'm serious! Look, how do you explain the fact that the prince isn't considerin' suitors yet? He's like what? Sixteen now? I'm pretty sure that's when Ozai started lookin' for a bride."

"The kid's been stuck at sea for what? Three years? Give 'im some breathin' room!"

"I'm just sayin'….no need to go spittin' on my face like that!"

"Aw….shut up!"

"Whatever. Anyway, you tryin' for the bounty…."

"Nah, maybe her brother's. Navi already claimed on her and we all know what that means…."

"Here's your drink," the bartender warily said, interrupting Jin from listening in.

Katara wrinkled her nose at the drink, did not touch it and elbowed Jin saying, "Now's your chance…."

Jin nodded and grabbed the bartender's arm before he could turn around to face his next customer. The bartender stiffened at the touch but faced Jin anyway. Jin leaned forward, slid her brother's wanted poster into the bartender's hand and said in a low voice, "I'm going to do some business today. Do you recognize him?"

The bartender stared at the picture and said blankly, "Who? Him? Of course I recognize him! He's a wanted fugitive of the Fire Nation!"

"Seen him around lately?" Jin demanded.

"Maybe," the bartender coyly said. He was rat-like man with a pointed nose, beady eyes and he had wisps of hair on his chin and upper lip. He stared at Jin with a gleam on his eye.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jin snapped, her voice rising higher.

"Maybe I need a little incentive," the bartender smirked.

"Maybe I should knock your stupid little head out of that high and mighty neck," Jin said, her voice losing its calm. She looked threatening with her shadowed face and angry voice.

The bartender looked startled and he quickly said, "Look….it'd be best if you don't know anyway, see? 'Cause Navi's already looking for him and no one goes capturing fugitives when Navi's got his claim on him…."

"Navi?"

"He's a bounty hunter. The best in the Fire Nation. You don't wanna mess with him, girly…."

He trailed off to the beefy looking man. He had seated himself in the back and he was drinking something that looked vile. Jin ground her teeth and stomped towards the Navi.

"She's a dead girl….it would've been easier if she'd just pay me," the bartender chattered.

Katara ignored him and tried to stop Jin saying, "Jin….wait!"

But Jin had already seated herself across Navi.

"Didn't remembering inviting you," Navi gruffly said as he took a swig of his drink.

"I know you know where he is. _Tell me_," Jin hissed as she showed him He Shen's picture.

"He's mine," Navi snapped upon seeing the picture.

"He's nobody else's," Jin hissed.

"You dare challenge me?" Navi demanded threateningly. Katara was about to pull Jin away but Jin held her ground and continued more firmly, "Tell me where he is. Fugitives are fair game to everyone."

Her defiance caught the attention of everyone. No one had gone against Navi for a long time and the last person to do so, had all his fingers broken. But still, something about the fact that a small and thin girl going up against a tall, beefy man like him amused Navi. He chuckled loudly.

"Oh, him? He's one slippery little runt so don't waste your time on him," Navi indifferently said as he brushed He Shen's poster away.

"You've seen him? Where?" Jin asked, surprised. Her voice lost all its momentum.

"Down by the Sozin Islands. Lost his blasted hide in the temples," Navi said angrily, his meaty fist pounding into the table at the memory.

"Sozin Islands?" Jin said, her voice trailing off. She was becoming more distracted. She leaned forward, unknowingly causing her hood to move slightly backwards. Katara, with utmost horror, realized that Jin's face was now recognizable. Apparently Navi realized it too.

"But he's not worth it. His bounty is worth a mere fraction….compared to _yours!"_

And with that, he lunged towards Jin ready to snap his meaty fingers around her neck. Jin barely had time to duck. She jumped over and stood at the table. Katara, panicked, waterbent Navi's drink towards his face. Jin, completely disheveled, widened her eyes as her hood was thrown back revealing her face.

"You don't fool me, Earth kingdom wench! I'm the best bounty hunter in the Fire Nation! I know who you are! I've been hunting down fugitives since I was a boy! A stupid disguise like that won't fool me!" Navi roared as he wiped off the liquid that stuck on his face.

"Hey! She's the leader from the Ba Sing Se Resistance!" someone shouted.

"Her bounty's worth plenty!"

"She's a fugitive!"

"Grab her!"

"No, I'll grab her!"

"Let's all capture her and split the cash evenly! The bounty is plenty enough for all of us!"

"This is my bar and she's under my roof so the bounty goes to me!"

"Nobody, grabs her but me!" Navi roared, his giant fists rising in the air as pandemonium broke out. For once, hiis angry warning was unheeded as everyone immediately started to scrambled towards Jin in a mad attempt to catch her. Suddenly a giant water whip sliced the through the air and threw back some men from the left giving Jin enough time to scrambled down from the table.

"I think that this is our cue to leave," Katara said as she grabbed Jin's hand.

Jin nodded, completely startled, when a chair sailed over her head. Suddenly, she felt two sweaty hands grab her by the armpits. She was suddenly hauled high up in the air.

"I've got her!" someone yelled triumphantly.

Jin scowled, kicked him in the face before somersaulting and landing with a kick to a man's nose. Next to her, Katara was trying to wildly waterbend her way from the throng. Jin growled and earthbent an earth pillar towards Navi who was hurtling his way towards her. He fell backwards with a thud. Navi scowled and suddenly procured a large axe from his back. He stepped towards Jin slowly.

"Try to fool me eh?" he roared as he swung the axe atop Jin.

Jin gave a startled cry before sliding downwards between his legs. She stood up and tried to kick him in the back but her foot met nothing but hard, solid flesh. She gave a cry of pain as Navi whirled around and swung his axe towards her again. Jin breathed deeply as she dodged it again. They continued their dangerous dance, with Navi trying to slice Jin through with his axe and with Jin trying to desperately avoid it. Jin could not get a hit in. She persevered on, biding her time, until he finally found a weak spot in him. She kicked his shin, earthbent an earth column to his back causing him to topple forward. Jin narrowly avoided him as he fell.

"Let's go!" Jin said, realizing that this was all too much for her and Katara to handle.

Katara looked at Jin and together they nodded at each other, understanding passing between them. Katara sent a giant stream of water towards the men blocking their way while Jin made a miniature earth wall, forming a shield that threw everyone away upon contact. Finally, covered in grime and sweat they made it out of the front door. Together they ran away from the bar as fast as they could without stopping until they were at a good distance.

Katara panted, her skin sweaty and her chest tight. Finally, when she felt air rushing into her nose again, she looked at Jin. Jin was staring at the ground, her face contorted into an expression of disappointment.

"I'm sorry you didn't get the news you wanted," Katara apologized.

Jin sighed and she said in a hard voice, "It's okay."

But she did not sound okay.

* * *

"Are you sure it was her?" Zuko gruffly demanded as he sat at the counter. He had escaped from the monotony of palace life yet again and he was wearing a hood to cover his face.

"I swear it on Agni himself! It was that fugitive! She was with that accursed Waterbender! You wouldn't believe it! All that money I could've made and she was just right under my nose!" the bartender lamented.

Zuko's nose twitched. He did not like the idea that Jin had been in a place like this.

"Do you know where she had gone?"

"Maybe," the bartender coyly said once again.

"Maybe?" Zuko hissed.

"Maybe I need a little incentive," the bartender said.

Angrily, Zuko threw his hood back and revealed his face. The bartender gasped in surprise and so did everybody else in the bar. Everyoen immediately fell on their knees.

"Please, forgive me your Majesty. I had no idea," the man whimpered.

Zuko growled and demanded, "Now. _Again._ Do you have any idea where she might've gone?"

* * *

Sokka was absolutely livid at the discovery that Jin and Katara had sneaked off into town and got identified. But what he could not believe more was the fact that for once, Katara broke her own rules. He however, did not dwell too much on it since his mind was on other things.

Katara and Toph continued to argue some more despite the fact that Aang and Sokka formulated many plans for them to be friends again. Jin, who did not want a repeat of her experience in the bar, did not make any more unknown excursions. She amused herself by training her earthbending skills rigorously. Since she no longer had the scrolls, she started asking help from Toph and soon she joined Aang in his Earthbending lessons. Sokka had started building Appa's armor while Katara finally agreed to cook for them once again.

Still, despite the fact that things got slightly better, Jin and Katara were still not talking to each other. Finally, weary and tired, Sokka went to talk with Toph, hoping that he might be able to convince her. When he returned by dinnertime, he looked very triumphant.

"You did it?" Aang asked hopefully.

"Yup. By dinnertime, they'll be friends again. Believe it or not, but Toph's going to say sorry first," Sokka smugly said.

"No way," Jin said.

"Yes way. You can all say it now. I'm awesome," Sokka said as Toph unaware of their conversation sat down on a log, looking deep in thought. Katara finally arrived with bowls in her hand. She handed one to each person and as she gave a bowl to Toph she clicked her teeth nervously.

"Hi, Toph. Um, I want to..."

"Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them," Toph said sincerely.

"Actually, I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say…I want to pull a scam with you!" Katara slyly said. Sokka, Jin and Aang gaped at the two of them disbelief.

"What ? _You_ want to pull a scam ?" Toph said disbelief.

"Not just any scam…the ultimate scam!" Katara said.

From their places, Sokka and Aang collapsed.

"What do you say, Toph Just me and you…one last go. You in ?" Katara asked.

"You know I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours ?" Toph asked as Katara put her hand at Toph's back and steered her off.

Sokka and Aang continued to gape at them stupefied but Jin was smiling. She had a feeling that she knew what suddenly came over Katara and Toph's sudden likability to each other.

Sokka wailed, interrupting her thoughts, "Has the world gone mad?"

* * *

"Do you think this scam of theirs should be taking this long ?" Aang asked as he paced back and forth worriedly.

"I was just wondering the same thing," Jin frowned.

"We'd better check it out," Sokka declared.

"I want to go with you!" Jin said.

"Absolutely not! Not after that stunt you pulled with Katara!" Sokka said.

"You are so unfair! Katara and Toph is my friend too! If she's in danger I want to help!" Jin protested.

"You can help by doing staying here and taking charge of Appa, Momo and Hawky," Sokka declared.

"I'm going and you can't stop me!" Jin stubbornly said.

"Look—''

"Guys stop arguing. Katara could be in danger. We have to go," Aang firmly said.

"Aang! You're seriously not letting her go are you?" Sokka said in disbelief.

"We're wasting time! Let's just go!" Aang declared and with that he started to move away. Jin smiled smugly at Sokka and trailed after Aang. Sokka dropped his shoulders dejectedly, turned to Hawky and Momo and said sternly, "You two behave. Appa's in charge."

The three of them quickly scrambled towards the town, with Aang leading them in panic.

"Where do you think they might be ?" Sokka worriedly said after many minutes of sprinting around town cluelessy.

"Where do you think _anyone_ is?" Aang said.

Jin said, "Maybe they're—''

Aang held his hand up, gesturing her to stop talking. His ear twitched. Suddenly he screamed, "Look out!"

A blast suddenly exploded near Jin sweeping her off her feet and propelling her backwards. Sokka had barely timed to escape as more blasts ensued.

"What's going on?" Jin yelled.

"It's "Sparky-Sparky Boom Man"!" Aang said and with that he began to sprint off as Sparky-Sparky Boom Man started to chase after Aang.

"You know, I'm starting to think that name doesn't quite fit," Sokka declared.

"Come on! He's after Aang!" Jin said, hurrying after Sparky-Sparky Boom Man.

They managed to catch up with Aang at the square.

"This guy is too good. He shoots fire from his brain!" Sokka said, half in awe and half in terror.

"Sokka, I don't think that now is the time for compliments," Jin wheezed.

"We should split up. He can't chase us all," Aang suggested.

They split. Sokka ran to the left while Jin took refuge under the statue of Ozai. As Aang ran along a roof, Sapprky-Sparky Boom Man spotted him and fired. The blast sent Aang careering into the chest of the statue of Ozai. Spark-Sparky Boom Man blasted after him sending chunks of Ozai's statue unto the ground. Jin stared at the debris in horror.

"Jin!" Aang cried as he fell backwards.

She couldn't react. She closed her eyes, sure that the rocks would crush her to her death when she suddenly felt the strong grip of two hands on her shoulders. Jin opened her eyes and gaped in horror when she realized that she was being carried, bridal-style, by Sparky-Sparky Boom Man. Jin could barely regain her shock.

Sparky-Sparky Boom Man had saved her!

Jin struggled but he continued to stomp on until they reached a safe corner. He then plopped her unto the ground and stared at her with fathomless eyes. Jin wasn't so sure what she was supposed to do. Was she supposed to thank him? Jin stared up at him in confusion.

Suddenly, his head was encased in a block of ice.

"Jin, get up!" Katara cried emerging from behind Sparky-Sparky Boom Man's behind. Jin sighed in relief. Katara held her hand up and helped her up.

"Let's get out of here," Toph said and soon they met up with Aang and Sokka and started to run. Sparky-Sparky Boom Man however, had broken his ice muzzle and was now sending blasts across their direction. Toph scowled, turned around and earthbent a rock at him, hitting the eye on his forehead causing him to topple on the floor.

Everyone sighed in relief once they saw that he was disoriented.

"Hey, I got it. The perfect name for that guy! "Combustion Man"!" Sokka said.

"Good job, Sokka. Now let's get out of here before "Combustion Man" catches us!" Toph said.

"See it fits so well…..now what I don't get is why he's so bent on destroying us but when Jin nearly got crushed by Ozai's statue he saved her," Sokka mused.

"Yeah, that was weird," Katara agreed.

They all looked at her.

"What?" Jin demanded.

"Do you know anything about it?"

Jin shook her head and said, "No. You're right. That was _weird."_

* * *

_Sorry for the long wait._

_Anyways, I forgot to thank those who read the story and added it to their favorites last chapter so….I'm extra thanking you guys now!_

_Special thanks to :Alana C. Jones, Uatu, tgbwe and daveshan (and yes, Sokka and Jin are awesome to write about )_

_Don't leave me hanging!_

_Keep the reviews up!_


	16. Part XV

**Burning Bright**

_Part XV_

"This is it, the official rendezvous point for the invasion force," Sokka proudly announced after examining the map one last time. They were flying over a small island, where koala sheep were dotted everywhere. It was green and grassy and a gentle breeze fluttered from behind. Behind him, everyone nodded sleepily, tired from the long trip they took in getting there. Only Toph showed any enthusiasm as she perked up and began to feel the breeze through her face. Jin, in particular, seemed to be in a very dour mood since she had attached herself to the back of Appa's saddle, curled in a very tight ball shuddering and shivering while her face paled and glistened with sweat despite the cold wind.

Suddenly, the peaceful silence was interrupted by a loud, dry cough. Katara cringed and patted Jin in the back while Sokka twisted around to face her. He said, "Hey Jin, are you sure you're okay?"

After Katara's little stint as the painted lady, Jin contracted some coughs and colds and a light fever. It subsided into momentary lapses however after Aang banned her from their little adventures and around-the-town excursions. But after she resumed her earthbending training under the tutelage of Toph and when the nights filled with sleeplessness and narrow escapes from Firebenders started to hit, her cough and cold started to rise back up again and for three nights in a row, her temperature rose.

"I—I'm fine…..the flight just made me feel a little woozy in the head—''

Her face suddenly turned green and she twisted to the side and started heaving chunks of food from her mouth. Sokka stared in total disgust while Katara rubbed Jin's shoulders as she continued to vomit, the sounds becoming more and more audible.

"There goes your dinner," Toph cringed.

"Wow. The fact that you just puked off of Appa's saddle is a very sure indication that you're _fine_," Sokka sarcastically said.

Katara shot him a pointed look as Jin gave a loud sigh and sat back, looking pale and tired.

"I would not want to be the receiving end of_ that_," Toph whistled, pointing downwards.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Katara skeptically asked.

"Yeah….just a little….motion sick," Jin sputtered.

"Aang, I think we better speed up our landing," Katara called to Aang from the back.

Aang groggily nodded. Aang, tired and weary, chose the shoreline, overlooking the bay for the perfect place for Appa to land. Appa, slowly but surely landed with a heavy sigh and everyone, tired and worn-out immediately scrambled down from Appa's saddle.

"As soon as I get my sleeping bag, I'm hitting the covers," Katara yawned. They flew for the longest time without the intervals they were used to and that wore everyone down.

"Not me. I think I'm going to take a bath…then explore for awhile," Jin said as she rolled her shoulders.

"_What?" _Sokka gaped. He was very shocked about two things. The first being that Jin was actually going to take a bath. He had no idea what was up with people in the Earth Kingdom and their aversion to remaining gross and dirty. Jin only took a bath every two days but he supposed that was slightly better than Toph who only took a bath once a week. Still, Jin wasn't a big fan of baths (though for some reason she still smelled nice even though she hadn't taken a bath for days on) and she had just taken a bath this morning.

And the second was he could hardly believe that Jin would still want to _explore_ considering the fact that she looked terrible and she was sick. These past few days because of her cough and fever, she had been sleeping less, often waking up in the middle of the night and when she did wake up she could no longer go back to sleep. And when she could no longer go back to sleep she practiced earthbending or read a few books (that Aang had bought her). Sokka could still remember the night he nearly got a heart attack after seeing Jin Earthbend in the middle of the night. He had tried to pry the reasons why she was sleeping less lately from her or tried to get her to admit that she was sick but as usual, in her constant state of optimistic denial, she pretended that everything was just peachy-fine with her and all she gave him was the cryptic response of "having bad dreams."

"I need to freshen up and….this place looks really interesting," Jin said trying to be enthusiastic though her eyes looked heavy with fatigue.

"Yeah…..and I don't suppose you feel tired?" Sokka demanded.

"No," Jin brightly said.

"Maybe you feel sick?"

"No, I feel perfectly fine."

"Not even in the least bit?" Sokka prodded.

"Not at all," Jin said keeping her happy tone up.

"Are you sure?" Sokka demanded, his eye twitching.

"Yes, I'm very sure—''

"What is wrong with you? _You look terrible!_" Sokka shot.

"Well thanks for telling me that I look ugly," Jin frowned.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! What I meant to say was…..how could anyone be so…so…so.."

"So what?" Jin demanded.

"_Happy?_ We've been flying for six hours straight, you haven't slept properly in one whole week, even though you won't admit it I know you're _sick_ and let's not forget…..Katara fed us nothing but mushroom soup for three days! How could you still want to explore!" Sokka gaped.

"I'm an adventurous person, okay?" Jin defensively said. Sokka blinked at her disbelievingly while Katara stared at her in concern.

"Are you sure you're okay Jin?" Katara piped up.

"I'm fine! Why is everybody thinking differently?" Jin demanded.

"Well….you have been acting really weird lately. Is something bothering you?" Katara asked as she neared Jin.

Jin stepped back and for the first time and she quickly said, "Look….I just want to check the whole place out okay? There's nothing wrong with being a little adventurous!"

And with that, she turned around and sprinted off before Katara or Sokka could say anything else.

"What's up with her?" Sokka said.

"Don't know. Maybe she's just a little nervous about the invasion," Katara shrugged.

"Speaking of the invasion, how did you pick this place ?" Toph asked Sokka pausing as she unpacked all the things from her bag. Aang had already collapsed into his sleeping bag and was barely paying attention to their conversation.

"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on a map. It's uninhabited, and the harbor surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place," Sokka eagerly explained, always happy when he is explaining something.

"Nice choice Sokka. And we're here four days ahead of schedule," Katara drowsily said as she prepared to unpacked her pillow. It had become saggy and thin after being used on such harsh conditions for many days but it still provided comfort to Katara. Katara hugged it happily.

Suddenly Aang woke up from his drowsy stupor, and rose out from his sleeping bag shooting high into the air.

"Wait, four days! The invasion's in _four days_! " he cried in panic and horror.

Sokka ignored him and yawned saying nonchalantly, "Whatever."

He curled into his mat and said dismissively, "That's like…four days from now. Let's just calm down, and ..."

He lulled into a loud snore. His snore echoed and everyone turned to find that Toph was also sleeping already.

"Sokka's got the right idea Aang. We're here, we're ready…the best thing we can do now is get plenty of rest," Katara echoed as lied down and laid her head on her pillow.

"Uh…" Aang whirled around frantically but he saw that everyone had fallen asleep. He frowned and briefly considered finding Jin so he could have someone to talk to so that he may ease his tension but his fatigue got the better of him. He laid down back to his sleeping bag and murmured doubtfully, "I guess you're right…."

* * *

Jin sighed heavily as she waded in the cool water. Her skin felt unbearably hot and she felt as if rocks were glued to her eyelids. Her vision was blurry and her train of thought was always interrupted by a loud cough or a sudden sneeze. Jin fingers trembled slightly as she used a small, rough stone to scrape off the dirt from her body.

She was never a person who liked baths too much. Being covered in a fine layer of dirt always felt nice and snug—it made her feel as if the very earth that she earthbent was enveloping her in a warm embrace. Also, it provided a good source of Earthbending whenever she was stuck in a metal or wooden cage. However, she felt so hot and groggy and tired that she just had to have a refreshing bath.

And another thing she wasn't was a person who got sick. As far as Jin could remember, despite being put into numerous of uncomfortable and extremely stressful situations, she had never contracted a disease of any sort—until now. Jin, supposed, that all her fears, which she had tried so hard to push down, were slowly rising back up accompanied with the many preparations they had done for the invasion, had caused her sudden illness.

The invasion scared her more than she liked to admit. It was as if she was stepping back into the pages of her childhood. In her sleep she was plagued by dreams of everything in fire, masked soldiers grabbing women and children by the neck, tanks and komodo-rhinos stomping through ravaged-torn streets and the color of red overpowering the green. All her dreams always ended with her mother standing in front of her, just inches away from her. Suddenly her mother would erupt in a burst of fire, her screams propelling Jin into wakefulness before she and Jin herself, got swallowed by the darkness. Just by thinking of those, Jin shuddered.

Jin hated war.

She hated everything about it—the tanks, the battleships, the emu-horses against komodo-rhinos, what it stood for. And the invasion was basically war. They were going to attack the Fire Nation and though Jin knew that Aang would never mean for it to happen—she knew that civilians would be caught in the crossfire.

That was unavoidable.

And Jin was afraid.

She was very, very afraid.

She was afraid that she would be useless, that she would clam up at the wrong moment and be a hindrance to the army. She was afraid of the many things that she could do wrong.

The other reason why she couldn't sleep at night was because of Zuko. Jin scowled. She despised him, hated him for lying to her and making her look like a fool in front of the Resistance. As soon as she finished her argument with him, she met up with Hai and everybody else and much to her dismay, everyone knew the whole story: she had personally put her honor on the line and vouched for a traitor. By the end of the day, everyone only followed Jin's leadership in a grudging manner because of her brothers. Aside from Hai and Long everyone lost their faith that Jin is capable and strong enough to lead the Resistance. How could she handle the Resistance if she had just let a traitor ruin it and destroy their Headquarters completely?

Still, Jin was ashamed to admit that a tiny part of her still_ liked_ him. She would be lying if she said that she didn't think about him constantly. She often reminisced about those times wherein she was completely oblivious to the fact that he was a no-good traitor—the dates they had, the kisses they shared, the touches they exchanged. She often wondered of what had become of him after Ba Sing Se—did he miss her? Was he guilty? Had he found a new girl?

Jin sighed. One of the things she was most afraid about was encountering him in the invasion. Would she be strong enough to take him out?

Jin looked off into the distance, her thoughts clouded and chaotic.

Silently, she got out of the water, pulled all of her clothes back on, left her hair to hang loose since it was wet and she then began to move towards the cliffs.

Everyone was probably sleeping right now.

Jin felt extremely jealous.

What she wouldn't give for a good night's sleep.

But it was pointless sleeping anyway.

She would still wake-up and her nightmares would continue.

* * *

Zuko was going to be happy today no matter what.

He wasn't going to let his pessimism and often troubled thoughts get the best of him. He was going to enjoy the fact that he could boss people around and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that. Not even Azula.

"Fresh fruit, Prince Zuko ?" one servant asked him as soon as two others finished fastening his robe unto him. The servant held the fruit bowl out of Zuko who declined.

"May I wash your feet, sir ?" one eagerly asked him. Zuko shook his head.

"Head massage ?" another asked. Zuko looked away.

"Hot towel ?" the first one asked again. Zuko looked at the steaming towels in contemplation before finally nodding, grabbing it with his hands and smoothing the nice, soft towels unto his face. When he finished, he fancied a nice stroll to the library. New military tactics had been sent into the Royal Library just yesterday. Zuko smiled peacefully as a horde of servants accompanied him to the library.

His tranquil morning however, was again ruined by Azula. Zuko couldn't stop the frown that was forming in his face.

"I've heard some very interesting things Zuzu," Azula smirked.

Zuko sighed and snapped, "What do you want? I'm going to the library to study some military tactics."

Azula yawned and said idly, "Just three minutes of your _precious_ time. A little birdie told me that you've been to a bar."

Zuko's eye twitched and he struggled to keep his voice calm.

"Yeah?"

"You were looking for a _certain someone_," Azula continued to state.

Zuko spat, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Azula smiled in satisfaction that she had once again riled Zuko up.

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Azula simply said. She started to walk off.

"Was that all, Azula?" Zuko said through gritted teeth as Azula stalked off.

Azula smiled before turning to look at him, "Yes. That was it. Though a fair warning Zuzu, be careful of the places you go. You don't want news of an esteemed prince hanging around bars do you? Father doesn't want us to have any more bad rep especially since your _little girlfriend_ and her brother is so _evasive."_

That was all it took before Zuko's day went completely sour.

* * *

"Hey, how long have you been up ?" Katara said. She didn't know who to address; Jin or Aang.

Jin and Aang were sparring with each other with extreme fervor though it looked slightly odd since both of them looked really haggard. Jin's hair looked like a rat's nest and there wasn't any sort of indication that she had actually taken a bath. Her cheeks were flushed and they were set against her pale, clammy skin. Dark circles rimmed the bottom of her eyes and coughs and sneezes would echo through as she sparred with Aang. Aang didn't look any different—his eyes had bags underneath them and he looked weary.

"A couple of hours," Aang absentmindedly said as he tried to hit Jin with an earth wall. Jin gave a dry cough before dogging it and trying to hit Aang with her left hand. Aang quickly blocked it and the two stared at each other, their wrists meeting, neither showing a sign of letting up. Katara decided that this was the perfect moment to get a word in.

"You know there is such a thing as over-training," Katara frowned.

"The invasion is getting nearer and I'm not getting any better at my earthbending!" Jin frantically wailed as managed to twist Aang away with her wrist.

Katara tried to calm her down. She said, "But that's only because you're sick—''

"I'm not sick!" Jin argued.

Katara sighed and said, "Of course not but—''

"I just don't want to be unprepared for the invasion. I haven't completed my earthbending training yet. I still need to master three more scrolls!" Jin said.

"But Jin, you're a good earthbender—''

"No I'm not! Lately, my form's weak, I don't' have power into my offensive attacks and I'm getting more and more absentminded! I don't want to be bad at earthbending and ruin the whole invasion plan!" Jin said as she ducked a water whip from Aang.

"But Jin, when the invasion happens they can't firebend so the chances of you being bad at earthbending and ruining the invasion are very slim—''

"You don't get it, do you ?" Aang scowled, pausing from his spar with Jin. He turned to face Katara, his eyes manic and bloodshot. He said, "My form is bad. I'm sloppy. And I still don't know any fire bending, not even the basics."

"That's okay Aang. The eclipse will block all firebending anyway, you don't need to know any!" Sokka said from his place in the grass. He looked up from his map and added, "Plus it's a stupid element."

"No it is not!" Jin suddenly said before she could stop herself. She automatically thought of Zuko and the night of their first date, when he had lit up the Firelight Fountain for her with his Firebending.

Sokka raised a brow at her questioningly. When Jin looked away, thoroughly embarrassed, Sokka simply shrugged and disregarded her as Katara said, "Don't you think that you two should be resting?"

Jin erratically shook her head and said, "There's no point in resting. I need to train for the invasion. I haven't resumed my training in a long time….that's probably why I've been doing so badly lately—''

"Jin, I've trained both you and Aang and so far you're learning quickly. You earthbend fine. You're pretty good actually," Toph interrupted.

Jin shook her head and said, "But still! I might forget the stances and forms….or…or freeze up at the last minute—''

"Jin, you could take out a whole army and still survive. You'll be fine," Toph said re-assuringly, her voice growing more and more concerned.

"And besides, I don't need to sleep or rest since it's all pointless really. I can't sleep anyway," Jin said quickly.

"Well, I still have to work on everything else. I'd better spend the whole day training," Aang declared.

"And I'll help you train. We could critique each other while we're at it," Jin said as Katara slapped her forehead.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Aang said nodding eagerly.

Katara sighed. There was no convincing these two.

* * *

Zuko was in a very bad mood after his encounter with Azula. He angrily dismissed all the servants telling them to get out of his way before stomping towards the turtle-duck pond wherein he then proceeded to angrily feed the turtle-ducks, throwing the bits of bread with such force that they splashed upon hitting the water.

Azula infuriated him to no ends. She was manipulative malicious and vindictive and he just wished that he could simply firebend the daylights out of her though he knew that it would be very pointless since Azula would probably win anyway.

What she all said was true.

He was looking for Jin.

After realizing that Azula had marked Jin's bounty up much higher than He Shen's he immediately knew that Azula was more interested in capturing Jin than her other brother for the sole reason of spiting him. He had to find Jin first, he decided. He knew that if Jin was ever captured then that would mean that Azula would be the one in charge for deciding her fate. He knew that Azula would subject Jin to unimaginable tortures just to get some sort of reaction from Zuko.

Zuko clenched his jaw.

He just had to find Jin. He already had the whole thing planned out. If he finds her than he would convince her to accept his help. He would find a remote village; pay a bunch of people to keep it quiet and let her stay there, away from Azula and any sort of harm, for the rest of her life. Now that he thought about it, the plan sounded ridiculous. He had just discovered that Jin was with a Waterbender and that could only mean one thing—she was travelling with the Avatar and to his annoyance that only re-affirmed his fear that the Avatar was indeed alive.

"You're going to kill the turtle-ducks if you keep feeding them like that," a flat voice commented.

Zuko looked up and was annoyed to see that it was one of Azula's cronies.

He snorted and said, "What do you want? Does Azula want you to tell me something?"

Mai shrugged and sat next to him.

"Don't let Azula get to you too much. If you act like this, it only gives her satisfaction. She likes to get a reaction out of people," Mai explained.

"Hmpf…" Zuko grumbled.

He continued to feed the turtle-ducks but in a gentler manner this time as he and Mai lapsed into silence. Finally Mai said, "Is it true?"

"Huh?" Zuko looked up from his turtle-duck feeding.

"Is it true?" Mai asked tonelessly.

"What's true?" Zuko incredulously asked.

"That you went to a bar to look for that Earth Kingdom Peasant," Mai stated.

"I did not!" Zuko defensively said. He then hotly added, "And she is not an Earth Kingdom Peasant!"

"You went to the bar," Mai sighed and simply stated.

Zuko growled and looked away from her. He started to hurry up his process of feeding the turtle-ducks. He didn't want to be around Mai any longer. It made him feel queasy. He was afraid that she was only here to get information out of him so she could go off and tell Azula.

"Did you know that I had a crush on you when we were younger?" Mai suddenly said.

Zuko felt his cheeks color as he remembered the fountain incident. Yes, he was perfectly aware that Mai had a crush on him before though he pretended to be oblivious. Actually, he didn't really know at first but he started understanding why Mai would suddenly blush and stutter when he tried to talk to her. He never returned her feelings because of two things—one: he couldn't imagine being with someone who was associated with Azula (yes, he hated her sister that much) and two: he just never saw Mai in _that_ way. It was one of those things where you could not imagine your _girl friend_ as your _girlfriend. _

He never knew how she felt about him after being gone for three years. He had thought that she didn't like him anymore since she was very indifferent towards him. However, he started thinking otherwise after Mai brought it up in the middle of nowhere while they were alone.

"Um….well….I was….sort of…." Zuko struggled to form a coherent answer.

"I liked you a lot because you were nice to me and whenever we hung out, you weren't pushy like Azula," Mai continued.

"Oh," Zuko said not sure what he was supposed to say or how he was supposed to react.

"You were also one of the few people who were genuinely nice to me," Mai said her voice never losing its flatness.

"Okay."

"I always thought that you would come around towards me. But I knew it would never happen. Especially since you got banished," Mai said.

Zuko mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Three years gave me lots of time to think about some _things._ It made me realized that the real reason why I liked you was because you were always sweet and kind and nice to me when most people weren't. And I guess I was just really attracted to that idea."

"…"

"I guess what I want to say is that I used to like you but not that much anymore. There's a part of me that still likes you but it isn't the same as before," Mai admitted, her cheeks finally coloring at the declaration.

"So…..um…I like you too. _As a friend…._I guess," Zuko stupidly said as he ran out of things to talk about.

"What I'm trying to say is that….times change and people change and sometimes they change so fast that you never have time to adjust or….erm….fix things before they change," Mai said.

Zuko listened intently, aware that what Mai was saying was making perfect sense.

"So…."

"_So_, I just want you to know that things are about change really fast and if you don't act know…I don't think that you will have time to fix things anymore," Mai said.

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that the invasion is about to happen."

Zuko froze and he said dumbly, "What?"

"Azula didn't tell you." It was a statement, not a question.

"What invasion?" Zuko asked in panic.

"Back in Ba Sing Se, after we had done the coup, Azula discovered that the Avatar and his friends were planning an invasion during the Solar Eclipse. The day where all firebenders—''

"—would lose their firebending ability," Zuko finished.

"Yeah."

Zuko stared off into the distance. He might encounter Jin once again. That made him more nervous than excited. They could meet each other in the battlefield. Mai stared at him waiting for him to say something.

"Zuko—''

"Invasion….there was an invasion coming and nobody told me!" Zuko roared, blood rushing into his ears.

Mai stared at Zuko and said, "Well, yeah. There's even an all-day war meeting tomorrow—''

"What? What war meeting?" Zuko said.

"Azula mentioned something. I assumed you were going too," Mai hastily said.

Zuko scowled and snapped bitterly, "I guess I wasn't invited. I didn't even know about the invasion."

He stood up and stomped away completely forgetting any new insights and life lessons he learned from Mai.

* * *

After spending the whole day training, Katara finally managed to coax Jin and Aang to sleep. Jin edgily prepared her sleeping bag and snuggled inside it restlessly. She didn't want to sleep. She wanted to train some more so she would be more prepared for the war. So she wouldn't mess up or do something stupid. Aang said as he lulled into sleep, "Good night Katara. Good night Sokka. Good night Jin. Good night Toph. Good night Appa. Good night Momo. Good night Appa and Momo."

Everyone chorused good nights including Jin. After a few minutes of silence Aang said once again, "Good night Katara. Good night Sokka. Good night Jin. Good night Toph. Good night Appa. Good night Momo. Good night Appa and Momo."

Irritated (all except for Jin) everyone muttered good night once again.

Aang nodded, satisfied and closed his eyes. When it seemed as if they were finally going to get a few precious minutes of silence Aang once again said, "Good night Katara. Good night Sokka. Good night Jin. Good night Toph. Good night Appa. Good night Momo. Good night Appa and Momo—''

"Go to sleep already!" Toph yelled in annoyance.

Aang cringed and closed his eyes. Jin sighed and to her surprise, she was actually sleepy. Her eyes started dropping downwards and finally she went to sleep.

Jin snapped her eyes opened once again when she heard the faint sound of someone crying.

She was surprised to see that the camp was covered in darkness. It was so dark that she couldn't see the sleeping figures of Katara, Toph, Sokka and Aang. She couldn't even see the massive form of Appa. She looked around, confused when the cries grew louder.

She whirled around and her heart nearly stopped. It was her mother and tears were streaming down her face.

"Jin! Help me!" she cried out as held her hand towards Jin.

Jin ran forward and tried to grab it but her mother was suddenly swallowed in darkness. Jin gave a startled cry.

"Jin!"

Jin turned around and saw that her mother was now at the opposite side. Before Jin could make a move she disappeared once again.

"Jin! Help me!" her mother cried. Jin turned around.

Her mother disappeared again.

This continued on for quite some time until finally Jin couldn't take it anymore. She put her hands on her ears and said, "Stop it! Please!"

Suddenly, her mother appeared in front of her.

"Jin…..why didn't you help me?" she whispered.

And just like, her mother burst into flames, her screams erupting everywhere and slicing through Jin's ears.

* * *

Jin woke with a start. Her head throbbed and her vision was blurry. Her mother's scream danced in her ears. Her face felt wet and with utmost surprise, she realized that the reason why her vision was so blurry or why her face was so wet was because she was crying. Tears were streaming down her face. Jin hastily tried to wipe them away before anyone would notice but it was too late. Katara, after finding Aang among the koala-sheep and convincing him to go back to sleep, had returned.

"Jin! What's wrong?" Katara asked, concerned as she sped towards Jin.

"N-nothing…" Jin stammered as she tried to pull the covers over her to block her face from Katara's vision.

"Your eyes are red….and oh whoa! You're burning up!" Katara said as she pressed a palm against Jin's forehead.

"Katara—''

"No more training for you or Aang tomorrow. The two of you need _rest_," Katara declared.

"I'm fine Katara!" Jin scowled.

"No, you're not! You're sick Jin!" Katara stated.

"What?"

"You're sick. You're fever's rising! I'm going to have to start making some medicine—''

"What? _Sick?_ I'm not sick!" Jin stubbornly said.

"But you are."

"But I can't be!"

"What?"

"But I can't be sick!_ I just can't!_" Jin hysterically said.

"And why not?" Katara demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"You don't understand," Jin shortly said as she looked away.

"Jin, everyone gets sick. It's normal. Hey, me and Sokka even got sick at one time. Just be lucky that you don't need to suck on a frog—''

"How long do you think this might last?"

"Judging by the fact that you feel very hot, I'd say about a week—''

"A week? But….but then I'll miss the invasion!" Jin said in horror.

"Yes, maybe you'll miss the invasion. But don't worry about it—''

"I can't miss the invasion! I have to be there when it happens!" Jin said. She sat up.

"Jin, you're in no condition to do _anything_ right now. I think that the invasion is the very least of your worries as of this moment," Katara said.

"_But I have to!"_

"But why? Jin—''

"If I'm sick then that means that I have to train twice as hard," Jin muttered.

Katara's jaw dropped.

"_What?"_

"Earth Kingdom soldiers have to fight whether they're starving or sick! I'm no exception!"

"Jin—''

"There's a special training tactile about that!"

"How would you know—''

"If I train really hard, then maybe I'll get used to fighting while being sick!" Jin muttered to herself, her eyes looking weary and tired but very manic at the same time. She stood up and started to walk off. Katara sighed. She had just gotten Aang back to bed and now Jin was going off somewhere. As her motherly instincts took over, Katara leaned forward and grabbed Jin's hand, "Jin, _please._ Go to sleep. Rest. That's the only way to cure your sickness…."

"Katara, you don't understand—''

"Yes! I don't understand Jin. _I don't understand!_ I don't understand but I'm worried at the condition you and Aang are getting yourselves into! _Please,_ go to sleep!" Katara pleaded.

"I can't," Jin's voice was barely a whisper.

"Why not? Is something bothering you?" Katara pried.

Jin didn't meet her eyes.

"Is something bothering you?" Katara asked once again.

Jin didn't answer.

"Jin—''

Jin sighed before saying in a somewhat irritated tone, "Look! If my sleep gets interrupted I can't go back to sleep anyway so there's really no point in me trying to get back to sleep!"

Katara opened her mouth but Jin cut her off.

Jin said flatly, "I'm going to the fields to master a drill."

And with that she spun on her heels and walked off.

* * *

"Hello Zu-zu. I've you've come for a royal hair combing, I'm afraid you'll have to wait," Azula easily said as she sat on the ornate chair. Two servants were combing her hair which was floating on a basin of water with a gold comb. Zuko scowled at her.

"So I guess there's a big war meeting coming up, huh? And apparently I'm not welcome there," Zuko snapped.

"What do you mean ? Of course you're welcome there," Azula said dismissively.

"Oh yeah I guess that's why no one bothered to tell me about it," Zuko said absolutely perturbed.

Azula finally eyed Zuko. She said, "Oh Zuko, don't be so dramatic. I'm certain Dad wants you there.  
You probably weren't invited, because it's so obvious that you're supposed to be there."

"Well, were you invited ?" Zuko questioned.

"Of course. I'm the Princess," Azula smugly said.

"And I'm the Prince!" Zuko said, annoyed.

"Exactly, so stop acting like a paranoid child," Azula said.

"And what about the fact that no one told me about the invasion?" Zuko demanded.

"Oh? I didn't tell you about that?" Azula easily said. She flicked a lock of her wet hair away and began to idly look at her nails.

"No, you didn't," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"Well, now you know," Azula simply said.

"That's not the point!" Zuko hotly said.

"I don't get what the problem is Zuko. So I forgot to tell you. It's not a big deal. You know anyway—''

"But I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation! I should be told about things like these!" Zuko snapped.

"Yes, Zuko I am fully aware that you are the prince of the fire Nation. Which is exactly why you should just go to the meeting," Azula serenely said.

Zuko scowled and snapped, "Forget it, I'm not going."

* * *

After nearly puking out her dinner for the third time, Jin decided to quit training and she returned to camp, completely exhausted. She was tired and unhappy after discovering that Katara was right. Training a lot more didn't help her to get used to the feeling of being sick—it made things worse. She coughed twice as loud and sneezed twice as hard and she felt extremely hot in the outside but for some reason she shivered shakily. She also felt like fainting a couple of times. Jin sighed and collapsed unto her sleeping bag ready to completely fall asleep when she was interrupted by Aang's loud voice, "Sokka get up! I need to know what day it is!"

"What! Who's talking!" she heard Sokka's voice say. Jin groggily sat up as she saw Sokka that Sokka had hit a rock-head and he had now fallen back unto his sleeping mat. She giggled slightly but stopped herself.

Oh no.

This was not good.

She was becoming light-headed.

Jin knew that it wouldn't be too long before she fell into a state of delirium. She gave a dry cough as she shakily tried to snap back into focus.

"Relax, it's still two days before the invasion," Toph said easily.

"Sokka, you've got to get up and drill your rock climbing exercises," Aang said as he tugged at Sokka's limbs.

"_What?"_ Sokka said in disbelief.

"In one of my dreams, you were running from fire nation soldiers, trying to climb this cliff, but you were too slow and they got you!" Aang explained, making exaggerated and comedic gestures as he described what he had seen in his dream.

"But that was just a dream. I'm a great climber," Sokka scoffed.

But Aang wasn't having any of it. He immediately hauled Sokka up with his Airbending and chastened him to climb the cliff overlooking their campsite.

"Then climb that cliff. Climb it fast!" Aang said as he pointed upwards. Sokka scowled and began to climb the cliff, muttering under his breath as he said, "Stupid Avatar. Stupid cliff. Stupid dream! I can climb fast!"

If it weren't for the fact that her head throbbed, Jin would have laughed.

"Don't drink that!" Aang yelled as Toph started to drink from a satchel of water. Sokka, completely startled, yelped and fell down.

"Why? Is it poisoned ?" Toph asked in irritation.

Aang quickly scrambled towards the two of them and said, "In my dream, we were right in the middle of the invasion, and you had to stop to use the bathroom. We died because of your tiny bladder."

"Ouch," Toph said.

"And Jin!" Aang said as he spun around to face Jin wildly.

Jin groaned and said, "Huh?"

"You have to start feeling better!" Aang exclaimed.

"What?"

"I said you have to start feeling better! And also, learn how to swim! In my dream, you puked, the wind blew and your vomit circled right back to you. It hit your face, blinded your eyes and impaired your vision and because of that, we all died! All because of your vomit" Aang wailed.

"Ooohh….my head, "Jin groaned as Aang's voice cut through her ears.

"There's no time to think about your head! Come on! You have to start learning how to swim! Katara, teach Jin how to swim!" Aang hollered as she hauled Jin up by her armpits and started dragging her unwillingly towards the water.

Jin was too tired to argue or complain.

"Aang! Jin's not admitting it….but _she's sick_!" Katara protested.

"Then the water will cool her off! And besides in my dream, after being blinded by her own puke, Jin tried to wash it off but she felt into a cliff right into the ocean and since she couldn't swim she drowned!" Aang said manically as he managed to push a very groggy Jin into the water. That snapped Jin back to consciousness immediately since she gave a loud and startled cry.

Katara tried to say calmly, "Aang…please get Jin out of the water so I could start applying some salve I made unto her back—''

"And you!" Aang cried turning on Katara. Katara stepped back, startled. "You need to start wearing your hair up. In my dream, your hair got caught in a train, and—''

Katara sighed and held Aang's cheek saying, "Aang, I know you're just trying to help. But you really need to get a grip. You're unraveling."

"You're right. I'm losing my mind…." Aang said.

"Look…you and Jin really need to rest. Sokka will try to help you sort it all out while I'll start giving Jin some medicine…." Katara said as she patted Aang's back.

Aang sighed, dropped his shoulders and said dejectedly, "Yeah…I guess you're right…."

"_AH!" _

They were interrupted by the sound of Sokka's yell as he slid off the cliff again.

* * *

"Jin, are you sure that nothing's bothering you?" Katara asked as she laid a cool cloth over Jin's head. She spent most of the morning trying to coax Jin into drinking the medicine she made for her, while Sokka and Toph tried to help Aang to relax.

Jin was just as jittery as Aang, in fact perhaps she was even more so. She could barely hold still, often going on and on about training and being unprepared and losing. Katara guessed that Jin's fever coupled with the fact that she had been overtraining when she should have been resting had made her half-delusional. She had tried to get Jin to sleep and she had succeeded in doing so two times. Her success was short-lived however since Jin would often wake up, screaming. She slept restlessly as if nightmares plagued her. And her fever was not subsiding in the least bit.

"I'm fine!" Jin murmured.

"You're burning up! But you're shivering…..do you feel cold?" Katara asked.

"I'm fine," Jin murmured her voice hollow as she leaned back into her sleeping mat.

"Jin, are you sure that everything's fine with you? That nothing's bothering you?" Katara asked.

"I'm fine, Katara," Jin sighed, weary of that question. Then out of curiosity she said, "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that….it's just that….you've been having nightmares lately…" Katara hesitantly began.

"Everyone has nightmares," Jin snorted.

"But….but...I don't know. Yours just seems…._different_…" Katara faltered.

"How so?" Jin inquired.

"I'm not sure but…I think they're making your fever worse," Katara said. She had been toying with the theory for days now and seeing as she had just given Jin every single herb and medicine she could think of including her world-renowned water therapy and Jin's fever showed no signs of lighting up, she began to think that her theory was very plausible. With every bad dream, Jin's fever grew worse.

Jin opened her mouth and for a moment, she looked ready to tell Katara. However, she closed it and looked away.

"Maybe if you tell me what's bothering you…..I could help," Katara offered.

"Look, I'm just nervous about this whole invasion thing okay?" Jin sighed in apparent frustration.

"But why? We have plans….we know what to do….we're more than ready!" Katara said.

"You don't understand Katara!" Jin said as she sprang up.

"I don't see how I fail to understand—_and sit down!_ You need to rest!" Katara said as she tried to pull Jin down. But as usual, Jin was being ridiculously stubborn.

"Katara….this is a war. No matter how prepared you are…..nothing ever goes as smoothly or as planned," Jin said her eyes looking cold and distant and sad.

"Jin—''

"Sleeping is not helping Katara!" Jin said in frustration.

"Jin, do you want to talk about it?" Katara said, with growing concern.

"For the last time, nothing's bothering me!" she said.

She whirled around and before Katara could stop her she said, "Look….I just need to be alone and figure some things out for myself, okay?"

And with that she left.

* * *

"Welcome Prince Zuko. We waited for you," Fire Lord Ozai said. Zuko stared at his father in pure confusion, not daring to believe that his father, the Fire Lord, had actually waited for him. He even wanted Zuko to sit at his right hand!

From her place Azula smiled smugly at him and mouthed "I told you so."

As soon as Zuko had settled into his place Ozai began with a few greetings, a short prayer to Agni and a small welcoming speech. He then turned to an old man to his left and said, "General Shinu, your report."

"Thank you, sir," General Shinu said, his head bowing in acknowledgement. He continued, "Ba Sing Se is still under our control. However, earthbender rebellions have prevented us from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom."

Ozai's left eye twitched and he said, "Rebellion? I thought that that problem has been eradicated after the destruction of their pathetic headquarters."

Everyone's attention immediately turned to Zuko.

Zuko, who did not want to disappoint his father, showed a façade of confidence. His insides were rumbling however, as he said, "Me and my sister have done our part with success. We have destroyed…destroyed their headquarters, captured a Resistance Leader and have prompted a nation-wide manhunt for the other two and so far….so far…we are making progress."

"Yes, I don't deny any of your achievements your highness but ah…er…" General Shinu hastily said only to lose his train of thought just as quickly.

"What is it?" Fire Lord Ozai demanded impatiently.

"Yes, it is true that they have all disbanded but their legacy…unfortunately, lives on. I'm afraid that little stunt the Resistance has pulled with the Dai Li only encouraged them more," General Shinu timidly said.

"What's your recommendation?" Fire Lord Ozai said.

"Our army is spread too thin but once the eclipse is over and the invasion defeated, we should transfer more domestic forces into the Earth Kingdom," General Shinu said. At the mention of the invasion, Zuko wrinkled his nose. They began to talk about more military tactics and Zuko found himself being more and more uninterested.

"Hmm…" Ozai mused thoughtfully. To Zuko's surprise, his father suddenly turned to him and said, "Prince Zuko."

Zuko stared at his father blankly, surprised at having been addressed and acknowledged.

"You've been among the Earth Kingdom commoners. Do you think that adding more troops will stop these rebellions ?" his father seriously inquired.

Zuko pondered on this and his mind automatically reverted back to Jin at the mention of the Earth Kingdom. He remembered how unbelievably persistent and stubborn she was. How she stood her ground, never changing her opinions to suit someone else's. How she always continued to forge on forward, never giving up, when she had hope burning inside of her.

He remembered her eyes, the most clearly. How they would become steely and determined when she started fighting for something she believed in.

"The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong. They can endure anything as long as they have hope," Zuko honestly said.

His father stared at him, his lips curling into a smile. He said, "Yes, you're right."

He began to murmur in a lethal tone, "We need to destroy their hope."

Zuko stared at his father in shock, trying to regain his eloquence. He said, "Well, that's not exactly what I—''

Azula quickly interrupted him saying, "I think you should take their precious hope and the rest of their land, and burn it all to the ground."

Zuko stared at his sister in horror and watched as she crossed her arms and smiled, completely self-satisfied with her brilliant plan.

"Yes…Yes, you're right, Azula," Ozai said. Azula smiled smugly, happy that her father was satisfied with her plan. Ozai suddenly got up and walked towards the table.

"Sozin's Comet is almost upon us and on that day it will endow us with the strength and power of a hundred Suns. No bender will stand a chance against us," Ozai said as he continued to walk on.

"What are you suggesting, sir ?" General Shinu asked.

"When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, used it to wipe out the Air Nomads. Now, I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom," Ozai announced proudly.

Zuko's jaw dropped, shocked at his father's cruel intention.

"_Permanently," _Ozai added.

Ozai suddenly began to grin from ear to ear as he examined the map he was standing on, further. He said, "From our airships, we will rain fire over their lands. A fire that will destroy _everything. _And out of the ashes, a new World will be born. A World in which _all_ the lands are Fire Nation and _I_ am the supreme ruler of everything!"

The generals and Azula burst into deafening applause as Zuko blacked out, hearing nothing else but the screams of people dying.

* * *

Zuko was actually part of the meeting but to his annoyance he was still not satisfied. Being part of the meeting without anything bad happening and with his father praising him didn't feel like the way he expected himself to feel. He felt empty and meaningless and most of all—he didn't feel like himself.

Aside from his father's plans to completely burn the Earth Kingdom into the ground, Fire Lord Ozai declared that he refused to participate in an event as stupid as the invasion. Even with the solar eclipse, the Avatar was hardly worth his time. He announced that he and the Royal Family would hide in a small bunker, away from the palace. Azula agreed with him wholeheartedly though Zuko knew that his father was actually afraid that the Avatar would actually have a chance of winning with his Firebending gone.

Zuko sighed and wandered around the palace. He suddenly paused when he saw Jin's wanted poster in a nearby bulletin.

He missed Jin.

He missed her and he thought about her more than he cared to admit. He missed her smile, her warm hands, and her messy hair. He missed the fact that she would just laugh off all his temperamental outbursts. He missed her kisses, her fingers which would stroke his hair. He missed everything about her. And he was ill to admit that he missed Ba Sing Se. While he was there he felt a strange peace settle over him. He had never felt the presence of that peace since his banishment.

He vaguely wondered what she was doing right now. Did she miss him? Did she even think about him? Did she find someone else by now? Zuko couldn't help but wonder at times.

Then he began to think of his uncle. He missed his uncle. He missed the warm, caring man who stood by him through thick and thin. Zuko suddenly felt guilty.

Then and there, as the mental image of Ba Sing Se being burned to the ground, rolled through his head, he began to question everything he had ever believed in and everything he had once known and he wondered if they were truly right.

* * *

Jin wandered off into the east side of the cliffs, trying to desperately avoid Katara's loud voice calling her name out. She continued to run, not once stopping with her head pounding against her skull and with her knees groaning from under her weight. She felt numb and everything rolled and washed over her, making no complete sense. It was as if she had no idea what was happening, what was going on.

She just had to fix things.

She had another chance to fix things, to fix all of her mistakes with this invasion.

She can't fail or let anyone down.

Jin gave a loud groaned and weakly collapsed as wandered into the koala-sheep field. She keeled over and stopped herself with a nearby rock that jutted over a cliff. Her eyes felt heavy and dim.

She was being unfair to Katara, Jin realized. She was being unfair and right now, she needed to go back and rest and do everything that Katara told her to do.

Jin didn't mean to take off. She was just so frustrated with all the questions Katara was asking. She didn't need to talk to someone else right now. She just wanted to sort things out by herself.

But how could she with this infernal pounding in her head?

Jin scowled loudly.

"Hey, do you mind moving?" a loud, shaky voice said.

Jin looked up and was incredibly shocked to find a sheep, standing on its hind legs and staring at her with reproaching eyes.

"Who said that?" Jin demanded, not quite believing it.

"Me, of course. No get out of my way. You're standing in my shade," the sheep bleated indignantly.

"You're talking to me," Jin said breathlessly.

"Well, duh, genius. Now get out of my way!" the sheep said in a voice that sounded strangely like Sokka's.

"I can't believe this._ I can't believe this._ A koala-sheep is _talking_ to me," Jin said her jaw dropping.

"Sheep? What are you talking about? What sheep?" the sheep bleated, its voice now sounding like Sokka's.

Jin blinked her eyes closed and when she opened them again, she saw the blurry form of Sokka staring at her inquisitively.

"Sokka?"

"Well, duh," Sokka scoffed, folding his arms. His movement blurred Jin's visions and suddenly Sokka was a sheep again, only his head retained his own face, looking down at Jin with concern and his trademark sarcastic face.

"But….but you're a sheep?" Jin sputtered blearily.

"I'm a what?"

"You look like a sheep."

"Huh?"

"You look like a sheep."

"Say that again."

"You look like a sheep."

"Are you kidding?"

"No."

"What kind of sheep do I look like?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"What kind of sheep did I look like? Did I look like a regular sheep or…something else?"

"Ugh! I don't know! A regular sheep!"

"Why sheep?"

"You're questions are making me dizzy!" Jin snapped as she started to stagger.

"Whoa," Sokka said, quickly grabbing her arm before she could fall. Sokka steadied her and said, "You look awful . Even worse than Aang. Did you puke again?"

"No," Jin groaned.

"Katara told me what happened," Sokka said as soon as Jin was back on her feet again.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Aang?" Jin asked trying to changed the subject.

"Nah. It didn't work. Katara's with him now doing water yoga or therapy or something. Anyway, as I've said, Katara told me what happened between you two today—''

"If she's mad, I'm sorry okay. I'm not really in the mood for talking right now," Jin murmured as she rubbed her head.

"Well….actually, she's not mad at you. She's just worried," Sokka said.

"I know…I know. I'll go back to the campsite and eat her salve or something," Jin sighed.

"No…actually, I have an idea…" Sokka began.

"Oh no…." Jin groaned.

Whipping out his beard and plastering it on his face he declared, "I think it's time that you have a session with Dr. Wang Fire!"

* * *

Jin sat edgily as Sokka assembled himself in front of her, stroking a koala-sheep imperiously as he stared at her with a critical eye. He grandly said, "So, Jin. Let's get to the point. Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," Jin said wearily.

"Something obviously is, otherwise you wouldn't be having these nightmares," Sokka said.

"Nothing's bothering me!"

"Nothing's bother you or something is bothering you though you just don't want to tell us?" Sokka said leaning forward.

"I…um….I don't know," Jin said honestly as the aching in her head started to make her feel more and more confused.

"My extremely clever deductions tell me that the reason why you refuse to tell us is it's because it's something _bad _and being the weirdly optimistic person that you are, you try your very best to ignore everything bad that's around you," Sokka deduced.

"I guess you're right….wait—what? No! It's not because of that—''

"Don't deny the expert!" Sokka haughtily said, fully in the moment with his beard.

"Sokka, wouldn't it be easier if I just went back to Katara, apologized and did as she told me too?" Jin asked haplessly.

"No. Katara told me that your fears and all that mumbo-jumbo is the root cause of your fever and being the amazing critical thinker that I am, she told me to discover that root cause, weed it out so you could be better again!" Sokka explained.

Jin pouted and said, "You just want a chance to wear your beard!"

"I do not!" Sokka argued defensively.

He then leaned back and said with an air of majesty, "Anyway, back to where we started. Something's bothering you—''

"No—''

"You can deny it all you want—''

"I'm not denying anything—''

"Would you just stop it for one minute please?"

"Stop what?"

"Stop….stop…"

Jin put her hands on her hips.

"What?" she demanded.

"Stop…stop what you're doing right now! Stop being so overly-optimistic!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are! I'm fine….nothing's wrong with me…I'm a perfectly happy camper—''

"I'm scared okay!" Jin burst out loudly. Her cheeks flushed and her brows were drawn making her look very angry. Sokka stared at her, completely taken aback. He had never seen Jin looking like this before.

"Um…"

Realizing Sokka's scared expression, Jin's shoulders dropped, she bit her lip and she looked away. She was shivering and cold sweat beaded her forehead. She looked withdrawn and beaten.

"So…you want to talk about why you're scared?" Sokka asked, timidly.

Jin didn't answer him.

"Seriously, Jin what's up?" Sokka demanded sincerely, dropping his Wang Fire persona for the first time.

"Can I just go back to the campsite now?" Jin sighed.

"Why are you afraid? Did something happen before?" Sokka inquired.

"I don't want to talk about it Sokka," Jin firmly said.

"Oh. Okay. If you don't want to talk about it then I won't push….but maybe…heh…maybe you want to give me some sort of idea—''

"Let's just say I failed. I failed to protect someone I loved very much when she needed me the most. I failed hard and I don't want to fail this time," Jin said.

Sokka opened his mouth, ready to say something else but then he thought the better of it. He simply said, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. It's obviously a very painful topic for you and if you don't wanna say it now…then I won't push you. Someday, you'll be able to talk about it openly and be able to come to terms with it. But today's not that day and I respect that," Sokka said.

Jin smiled at him gratefully as Sokka helped her up and led her back to the campsite.

To her relief, he didn't mention a word about her strange behavior anymore.

And just like that she felt as if some of the weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

* * *

"Aang?" Jin said.

Jin had taken a long nap as soon as she and Sokka returned back to camp. Katara accepted her without much question and she was extremely grateful for that. Jin's nap lasted a good two hours and when she woke up, she felt thoroughly refreshed and she slightly felt better after airing a bit of her fears out.

Apparently, lots of things happened during her nap. Aang had gone into a full-blown hallucination and in the event of trying to stop him, Aang stormed away from Katara, Sokka and Toph. Jin decided that since she was the person, who understood most what he was going through, she would be the best person to go out and try to talk to him.

Her fever subsided slightly and she was feeling less lightheaded.

"I know what you're going to say to me Jin. Forget it," Aang said.

"Aang…"

"Look, you guys keep telling me I need to sleep, but I can't, the invasion's tomorrow.," Aang manically said.

"Actually, I was going to say something else—''

"No Jin, there's still so much I haven't learned. I don't need sleep. What I need is practice. Quick, hit me," Aang eagerly said.

"I'm not going to hit you," Jin calmly said.

"You don't understand Jin! I need to train harder because the whole world's counting on me!_ I. Can't. Fail_!" Aang roared.

"But I do understand," Jin quietly said. Despite the quietness of Jin's face, it crashed around Aang's ears.

"Understand? _Understand?_ You don't understand Jin! The weight of the world isn't on your shoulders!" Aang cried.

"I know that Aang. I know that. I don't know how it feels like to have the whole world's weight on your shoulders. But I do understand what you are going through," Jin quietly said.

"What?"

"You're not the only one who's afraid to fail," Jin said.

"Huh?"

"I'm scared too. I'm really, really scared because a few years back…I…I….someone died because I wasn't strong enough or brave enough and I'm really scared that it would…it would happen again with you guys," Jin said morosely.

Aang stared back at her, unsure of what to say.

"Listen to me, I've seen how you fight since the very first day I met you. And Aang…you're good. You're more than ready for this," Jin told him as she placed two hands on his shoulders.

"You really think so?" Aang asked hopefully.

"_I know so_. We can do this," Jin said, her voice gaining its usual brightness.

"And you're pretty good too Jin. Don't worry. You won't fail us this time. We have your back," Aang said.

Jin didn't look entirely convinced but she relaxed a little. She said, "Thanks,Aang. You're the man. You can do this."

And with that the two went to sleep with peaceful minds that night.

* * *

_I realized something really important while re-reading through my previous posts and that's that I never wrote an update from Jin's perspective. This one sort of shows one side of Jin, a little background history of her. _

_Now, the Zuko and Mai conversation wasn't meant to imply any possible pairing between them in my fic. I just felt that it would be pure laziness on my part to completely disregard the Maiko ship so i felt that I needed to give it some closure. _

_Lots of thanks to those who added this to their favorites or to those who read this! Awesomeness:)_

_And thanks you so much to those who took their time to review:_

_daveshan: Thanks a lot! Don't worry, I'll try to keep the grammatical errors to a minimum._

_Alana C. Jones: Thanks for the really awesome review! *foams in the mouth and passes out too*_

_ArrayePL and glamouraj: Thank you so much for the review! _

_Panther-Strife: A harem? Maybe in other fics but not in this one xD haha Thanks for the really awesome review! More awesomeness to you! :)_

_Panther-Freedom02: Aww, i don't hate Zuko! That dude's so awesome that it's beyond comparison. Sorry if I made it seem that way. But anyway, thanks for the review._

_TheApocalypticTarantula: Thank you so much for both reviews! I really appreciate it! :)_

_Hivedragon: Thank you so much! Your review makes me want to write more._

_Please guys._

_Always R&R._

_:)_


	17. Part XVI

**Burning Bright**

_Part XVI_

The day of the invasion had been a particularly busy one. Katara rose the earliest among everyone else, getting a head start on the massive meal Sokka had told her to prepare. The invasion army would be meeting them today and she and Sokka did not want them to starve before the big fight. She had paused momentarily to check on Jin, who had finally slept peacefully that night, and was satisfied to discover that Jin's temperature subsided greatly. She still had the occasional cough and her cheeks were still flushed but other than that, Katara deemed her capable enough to fight for the invasion despite her condition. Katara pressed some hot compress on her forehead, bundled her up with some more blankets and went to the pots and pans, heated the stove up and started cooking right away.

Sokka woke up next with Toph waking up mere minutes after him. Sokka, for once, didn't want to eat anything and he hurried over to a small nook where he took his map out and began to examine and make marks on it. Toph grabbed some breakfast before doing several warm-ups in the koala field.

Jin woke up the moment the first rays of dawn started hitting them. She looked well-rested, much to Katara's relief, though she still looked troubled and slightly distant. She did look notably better though and her mood and aura had the same cheerfulness and brightness she had during their very first meeting. She ate a very hearty breakfast, the first signs of her massive appetite in days, before wandering off to Toph so she could practice a little more on a few drills.

Everyone had changed into their previous clothing before going about their different activities. Sokka and Katara changed back into their Water Tribe clothes and so did Toph with her Earth Kingdom clothes. As soon as Jin changed back into her old clothes, she plaited her hair into two braids once again and began to wear black arm and leg guards. Everyone felt that if they were going to fight the Fire Nation, they wanted to do it with their native clothes to show their pride for their respective nations.

Katara had just finished her second batch of soup when she heard a loud voice roar, "Top of the morning, Momo!"

Katara smiled happily, knowing full-well that that was Aang. She turned around and said pleasantly, "Sounds like you slept well."

"Like a baby mooselion," Aang proudly announced.

"Well, you weren't the only one," Katara said gesturing to Jin who was trying to copy some of Toph's movements in the distance. When Jin saw that Aang had awakened, she gestured for Toph to end and together, the two of them started walking towards the campsite. Aang eagerly waved at them.

"I'm ready to face the Fire Lord!" he announced, making a fighting stance as Jin and Toph neared.

Toph smirked and said, "So what's your strategy for taking him down ? Going to get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State Action?"

Toph began to throw a series of punches on the air.

Aang's face immediately fell and he said dejectedly, "I can't. When Azula shot me with lightning, my 7th chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the Universe."

Sokka quietly joined them, completely absorbed in his map. Toph said, "You know what I just heard? Blah blah spiritual mumbo jumbo blah blah something about Space."

"Would you keep it down? I'm trying to think!" Sokka said, thoroughly peeved.

"Hey, what's gotten your goat?" Jin asked teasingly as she elbowed Sokka.

"Goat? More like koala-sheep," Sokka snickered. Jin pouted at him as he added, "Felling better? I was wondering who ate all the mutton soup!"

"Oh, dry up Sokka!" Jin shot back though she was smiling at him.

"Only if you will."

"Ha. Lame comeback."

"Whatever."

Jin smiled happily and so did Sokka, knowing that their little bicker wasn't anything serious. Sokka was happy that Jin was shooting arguments towards him again.

Jin _did_ feel better though her body still ached in some parts and her head would suddenly throb at times but all in all, she felt light and nimble and ready to fight. She felt guilty however, when she thought about her behavior during the last three days, especially towards Katara. In an effort to make things up to her, Jin had suggested to help Katara in her preparations for the invasion army's meal, but Katara knowing that gastric burns and indigestion would not be the best thing for everyone right now, told Jin that it was all fine really and that she should concentrate on warming up for the fight.

"Oh no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion ?" Katara said in concern as a slow and steady thick fog started to creep up from the bay.

Sokka broke out into a large grin and he said happily, "No, that _is_ the invasion."

Everyone stood still and watched in awe as five, strong and reedy Water-Tribe ships emerged from the fog, plowing their way towards them in a fast motion. Sokka, with much pride in his chest, turned to Jin and began a long commentary on the awesomeness and imperialistic majesty of the Southern Water Tribe and their world-renowned navy. Katara knew that Jin had probably seen sturdier Earth Kingdom ships but she was happy that Jin merely nodded politely.

Jin, Aang and Toph immediately began to earthbend some docks as the ships neared while Sokka ran to and fro from the place trying to fix it up and make it look presentable. As soon as the ships docked and Katara and Sokka's father, Hakoda, emerged, the two siblings immediately rushed towards him happy with the reunion.

Aang looked at Jin and saw that she was staring a little wistfully and sadly at Katara, Sokka and Hakoda's reunion. He didn't know much about Jin's past because she never really talked much about it but from the way she was staring at Katara and Sokka hugging their father happily, Aang understood that she was slightly jealous that the two siblings get to be a family for one last time while Jin was all alone in the world, with a brother captured and another one missing. Aang drew closer towards her in an effort to comfort her.

Jin simply smiled at him and told him that she was just content to watch the people emerging since she didn't really know most of them. Two men wearing nothing but leaf underwear emerged and Bato, a friend of Hakoda's, commented on how he wished they wore pants. A man wheeling a young boy in a wheel chair passed by her. Some more familiar faces like Duke and Pipsqueak waved at her enthusiastically.

A few Resistance Members started to emerge. Jin gasped as soon as she recognized a few of them since they all looked so different. Hardships and endless training in preparation for the war had hardened their features. Nuo, though he was still timid and small, had grown a slew of sinews on his forearms and biceps. Hai's thin and reedy figure had expanded into a massive form. Guai and Long were no longer boys—they looked like men.

Jin didn't know whether to be proud of them or to be ashamed for herself. Though she had never actually seen herself in the mirror, she knew that she probably did not have the appearance of a commanding leader. She still looked slightly sick and her eyes looked dull with fatigue. A few bruises from Toph's training dotted her shin and knuckles. Her skin was dry and had lost all its moisture from too much exposure in the harsh, Fire Nation sun. All in all, she looked unimpressive and horrible.

As soon as Hai saw her, he immediately ran to her and gave her a warm hug.

"Jin!" he cried. Guai and Long came forward and so did Nuo though other Resistance members hung back and stared at Jin warily and resentfully.

"Whoa. Look at you! You're ripped!" Jin said as she patted his arm, giving a small smile. Her eyes quickly reverted to the crowd in the hopes of finding He Shen among them. She knew long ago that Ge Jiang had been captured because she had not seen a speck of his wanted poster. But He Shen's poster was still splayed across Fire Nation bulletins and Jin stubbornly clung unto the belief that He Shen was not dead or captured but he was, perhaps, alive and among people of the Resistance.

"Yeah, but not as much as Nuo though. You can't believe how rough these Water Tribe guys are," Hai whistled as he elbowed Nuo.

Nuo laughed good-naturedly and said, "Yeah, they really whipped us into shape!"

"And look at you guys! You're not boys anymore!" Jin said, gesturing to Long and Guai. She gave the two of them a warm hug. Long and Guai blushed furiously and Jin suddenly became fully-aware that they were men now—sort of.

"Master Feng was on a boat with us," Long said.

"He's an Earthbending master," Guai piped up.

"He trained us," Long finished.

"That's good, good! You all look awesome!" Jin said.

"And you look really…pretty…as always!" Hai impishly said.

"Aww…you're joking. I look horrible," Jin said looking away.

"You _never_ look horrible. And besides, we probably don't look any better. Those water tribe guys….whew! You would not believe how hard they trained us!" Nuo said as he pushed his glasses which had slid off, back up his nose.

"That's nice. How's everybody?" Jin asked gesturing to the other Resistance Members who hung in the back and was giving Jin pointed stares.

"A little shaken up but otherwise, they're fine," Long said.

Jin frowned and sighed unhappily, "They still hate me don't they?"

"No!" Hai protested but one look from Jin that said that she did not believe them quickly made Hai digress and he said trying to sound nonchalant, "They'll get over it."

"I wish," Jin miserably said.

"Li seemed like a nice guy. He could've fooled anyone," Nuo said trying to comfort her and make her feel better. He patted her shoulder.

"Except that he fooled _me_—a leader of the Resistance," Jin sighed, looking sadly at the Resistance Members who had not approached her. They had every right to be angry with her. It was her fault that the Resistance disbanded and got destroyed. If only she listened to Ge Jiang.

"It's alright Jin. People make mistakes sometime. Don't beat yourself up too much. You were a great leader," Hai said.

"I shouldn't have trusted him," Jin sighed.

"We _all_ shouldn't have trusted him. But we _all_ did anyway," Long said.

"They'll come around eventually. They can't hate you forever. Especially after today. I bet you'll be great," Hai said confidently.

"Yeah….great…" Jin muttered, feeling the heat of pressure rise back up against her again. She began to worry. What if she _didn't_ do great? What if she did something stupid? She would make herself look like an even bigger fool in front of the Resistance Members. She did not deserve Hai, Nuo, Guai and Long's support at all.

Hai and the rest chatted with her some more, filling her up with updates of what they've been up to before dispersing to converse with other people and Jin was left to her own devices. Jin went around and chatted amiably with everyone else. She tried to approach less-friendly Resistance Members though they merely regarded her with a cold indifference. Jin's self-esteem and previous cheerfulness was about to hit rock bottom when she suddenly heard a booming voice say, "Negatory. The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others' entertainment. Now, we fight for our Kingdom!"

Jin sped towards them and could barely contain herself. She squealed, "The Boulder! I can't believe it! You guys didn't tell me that you invited the Boulder!"

"I kicked his whiny butt a while back!" Toph smugly announced.

"Hey! The Boulder does not like insults!" the Boulder protested. He made a move towards Toph but Jin stopped him by shoving a piece of paper and a small pen under his nose.

"Hey is right! You have no idea how big of a fan I am! Could you please give me your autograph!" Jin excitedly said.

"If you wanted an autograph of a real Earthbender, you should've asked _me_," Toph said sounding severely annoyed.

The Boulder stared at her incredulously before proceeding to give off a very haughty expression. He said as he took the pen and paper from Jin's hand, "The Boulder is flattered that a pretty girl is a big fan of his. If you want I could let you touch my biceps?"

Jin shrank and said, "Actually, having your autograph is just fine…."

"Are you sure girly? Because the Boulder is very willing to let a devoted fan touch his biceps," the Boulder asked.

"Awww….I want'a pretty gurl to get my autograph too…." The Hippo wailed from behind the Boulder.

"Well, she asked the Boulder for his autograph _not you_….so shove off!" the Boulder declared pushing the Hippo out of the way.

"Yah shove off!" the Hippo snapped.

Jin backed off as the two got into a very violent fistfight, crumpling Jin's autographed paper in the process and spilling ink from the pen everywhere. Jin didn't know whether to be worried or to be amused.

"Ugh. Why did you encourage them?" Toph demanded as the two continued to fight loudly.

Jin sheepishly shrugged while Toph huffed.

Jin and Toph drifted off to meet other people. Aang had just finished introducing Jin to the Mechanist and his son Teo. Meeting the Mechanist made her feel slightly sad since the Mechanist reminded her so much of Duan Jie. Thinking about his death reminded her of the fateful day when the boy she extremely liked betrayed her and everyone else and indirectly caused the death of Duan Jie.

Jin was so absentminded that she accidentally bumped into someone. She would have fallen backwards unto the floor if it weren't for the fact that whoever she bumped into grabbed her hand and pulled her back up with a strong grip, making her regain her footing.

"I'm really sorry—''

The perpetrator paused and stared at Jin with wide eyes giving Jin a chance to examine him more. He was a tall boy who was obviously from the Earth Kingdom because he was slightly tanned and his eyes were deep green. He was a head taller than her, he had a pleasant boyish face though he had a small beard growing around his lips, his hair which was long and black was tied in a topknot and he had strong steady, shoulders. He was gaping at Jin trying to say something.

"Um….sorry too…" Jin said unnerved by the way he stared at her.

The boy began to blush and he finally said, "Oh—no! It's—it's my fault."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the boy was a little attracted towards Jin. Jin, during her short sixteen years, had her fair share of admirers and she knew all too well what the boy in front of her's blustering and stuttering meant.

"Um….I'm really sorry—I didn't mean to—''

"Oh, it's okay really! It was sort of my fault for not looking anyway!" Jin quickly said, feeling severely embarrassed as the boy started to blush.

"No,no! It was my fault—''

"My name's Jin," Jin quickly said before he could protest one last time.

"My name's Haru," the boy quickly said. Jin held her hand out and he stared at it not sure what to do. When he realized that she meant for him to shake it, he became embarrassed. In a very awkward manner, he grasped her hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Aang's?" Jin asked.

"Yes. Er—we met each other before," Haru said.

"Really? Where?"

"In my…um…village. He helped rescue my father and me actually," Haru said as he fidgeted. Jin couldn't hold back the frown.

She wished he would stop talking that way. It made her feel even more awkward.

"That's nice," Jin said not quite knowing what to say.

"So…are you the new girl that Aang keeps talking about?" Haru asked trying to break the weird silence.

"I guess I am," Jin smiled.

"Oh, really? So where did you guys meet?" Haru asked.

The two of them lapsed into a somewhat uncomfortable conversation. Jin told him about that she used to live in Ba Sing Se before the Fire Nation took over it—she extracted many significant events about her life story, especially the part where she did the stupidest thing a person could ever do: she let a traitor in their Headquarters. Haru, likewise, told her how he used to live in a captured village where earthbending was forbidden. He hid his earthbending skill out of fear for being captured. Jin nodded understandably, knowing exactly what he had gone through. She explained that Ba Sing Se had a similar policy; earthbenders had to be registered and they had to undergo training with the Dai Li.

Haru then proceeded to tell her how Katara gave him the courage to stand up for himself. He was however, extremely quick to mention, that Katara was not his girlfriend in any way. Jin couldn't hide the fact that she wasn't completely amused with that statement.

The two continued to talk their topics divulging into politics. Jin started to feel unimpressed and disappointed in Haru. He had no stand whatsoever. It seemed as if he was always for the neutral ground, never taking an opinion and a belief of his own. Jin suddenly remembered how strong-minded Zuko was. He knew what he wanted—even when it wasn't always right—and he stood by it and never let anyone shake him or make him change his mind otherwise. She fondly recalled the arguments and debates they shared.

That was one of the reasons why Jin was so attracted to Zuko. She liked someone who had a defined personality, who had their own opinions. Haru, sadly did not have any opinions that stemmed from himself. It was always "My father thinks" or "He believes…."

It was a pity. She would have liked him if he was a little confident in what believed in.

He did not have any personal conviction.

Unlike Zuko.

And he was so much taller than her. Jin had to look up to face him.

Unlike Zuko.

And he was too mild-mannered. He didn't get mad whenever Jin teased him.

Unlike Zuko.

And he smiled too much.

Unlike Zuko.

And also….

Jin stopped herself, after realizing that she was comparing every little thing Haru said or did with Zuko. What on earth was she doing? Why was she comparing Haru with Zuko? What was she trying to prove to herself anyway? That all boys had to be like Zuko to catch her attention? Jin suddenly got mad at herself. She was being ridiculous and stupid.

Jin was so frustrated with herself that she didn't want to talk to Haru anymore. She smiled at him politely and said, "I think Katara's calling us for lunch now."

Haru sputtered a quick yes as Jin whirled around and walked off.

Haru sighed.

He had a feeling that he didn't make any impression on her at all.

* * *

Zuko had to go about his preparations carefully if he was ever going to push through with this successfully without Azula knowing. First step was to pack all his things which really just consisted of his Dual Dao swords and a few other garments. The second step was much more difficult. He had to have a hot air balloon up and ready at the exit of their underground bunker. He had already ordered one from a nearby manufacturer and it cost him thousands to keep it a secret from Azula, which he knew would be pointless since Azula was so good in weeding out the truth from people.

But still, it bought him a little time and he was okay with that.

The next step was to find the Avatar which shouldn't be too difficult because he spent three years tracking the Avatar down. He would find him. The last and final step was going to take some time and effort. He would have to ask for the Avatar's forgiveness and beg for him to let Zuko teach him Firebending. He understood that the Avatar was desperate for a Firebending teacher. He just wasn't sure if he was desperate _enough_ to take Zuko as a teahcer which considering their previous history, would probably be not that much.

He wasn't even sure what made him come to this decision. He just knew that he had to follow through with this or he'll never get some sleep.

* * *

"What's up with you?" Jin asked once she realized that Sokka was nervously tugging at his shirt and looking wildly around.

"I'm kinda nervous," Sokka muttered.

"Why?" Jin asked curiously. She had a bowl of broth in her hand and had drifted off from her place to sit next to Sokka after realizing that he was all alone and that was acting strangely. He did not once touch his soup, instead busying himself with looking over maps and charts.

"He has to tell everyone about his plan for the invasion," Hakoda said from behind Jin.

Jin looked at how nervous Sokka was and she said re-assuringly, "Don't worry, you'll do great."

Hakoda gestured for Sokka to go up the platform and after taking a deep breath, Sokka exhaled loudly and anxiously walked up the platform, fiddling with his scrolls as he did so. He scanned the crowd and after meeting with his father's eyes and a little nod of approval from him Sokka began.

"Good morning, everyone!" Sokka declared. He tripped and dropped all his scrolls. Jin placed a hand over her mouth and stared worriedly after him. She hoped that that wasn't any indication of how his nerves were going to affect him.

Jin held him a thumbs up after he shot a severely embarrassed gaze towards her.

"Uhm… So, as you know today we're invading the Fire Nation. I mean I know you know that," Sokka gave a nervous laugh and when no one made a reaction of any sort he limply hung his head.

Jin gave a forced laugh to re-affirm him and after realizing what she was doing, Aang, Toph, Katara and Hakoda followed suit.

"Because otherwise why else would you be here. Anyway…" Sokka added. He faltered and he clumsily dropped all his scrolls. He hastily stooped over, picked them up and slapped them on the board.

"So…the Fire Lord's palace is here…." Sokka said once all the maps were positioned. He pointed at a small, spot on the map. He was about to start explain when he realized that he was pointing at the wrong place. Mightily embarrassed he said, "Uh no, uh wait…"

Sokka began to flip through all of the maps. Jin stared at him sympathetically after realizing that no one was really paying attention to him anymore. A few water tribe people were playing with marbles in one corner while some Earthbenders were making little hills from behind Jin. Jin stomped her foot on the ground, sending little tremors and prompting the earthbenders to look up only to be met by Jin's reproachful gaze. Katara, likewise, silently reprimanded the water tribe boys to pay attention.

"It's here," Sokka finally said. Due scratched his head as Sokka tugged at his collar and gulped. Katara nodded at Sokka, encouraging him to continue.

"And uh there's an eclipse today and Aang's going to fight the Fire Lord…" Sokka continued. He took one look at the uninterested crowd and he began to panic. He said, "And the firebenders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us and uhm…I'm sorry, let me start at the beginning."

He closed his eyes and tried to get a grip. When he finally thought that he was ready, he said rapidly, "Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg. Now I didn't like Aang at first but I grew to love him over time. Then we went over to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live and then we met Suki, who is a Kyoshi warrior. She made me dress like a woman and then she kissed me…"

Jin slapped her forehead. Sokka was a goner. He was babbling pure nonsense. Jin sighed and thought that it was a shame since Sokka could be so eloquent if he wanted to be.

"Thank you, Sokka," Hakoda finally said as he placed a re-assuring hand on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka stared at his father in surprise.

"It's okay. Why don't you take a break?" Hakoda prompted him. Sokka dropped his shoulders in disappointment and slowly went down the stage. Jin stared at patted his shoulder.

"You did great," she whispered.

"Just don't say anything," Sokka dejectedly said.

"…They're two steps to the invasion. A naval stage and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, _we_ have to get pass our first major obstacle here. The Great Gates of Azulon. Next, we hit the land and we hit hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that it's up to the royal palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin," Hakoda finished. Everyone was alert now.

"Jin, you and the members of the Resistance will be in charge for penetrating through the palace gates and for guarding it while Aang finishes his business," Hakoda announced.

Jin felt the heat rising in her cheeks as soon as she realized that the Resistance members started to grow uneasy at the mention of Jin leading them. One of them whispered loudly, "Yeah, let her lead us so she could bring us to Zuko…"

Guai scowled and glared at him but Jin was too upset to recognize that small gesture of kindness.

"Excuse me, The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade _during _the eclipse when the firebenders are _powerless_ ," the Boulder said as he raised his hand.

"The eclipse only last 8 minutes. Not enough time for the whole invasion and the royal palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar would have defeated the Fire Lord. We would have control of the Fire Nation capital and this war will be over!" Hakoda announced.

The entire camp erupted into cheers. Jin pumped her fist high into the air as Katara clapped and Toph hollered. Only two people didn't look as enthusiastic as everyone else and that was Aang and Sokka. Aang looked deadly serious and his eyes had a sort of tunnel vision look to it, as if he was trying very hard to focus on something. Sokka's face had a mixture of disappointment and worry etched on it.

Everyone immediately set off to do their own preparations. Katara waterbent some of the river water into her pouch. Toph put on some wrist guards. Sokka and Hakoda put on their head gear which resembled a wolf. The Boulder and some others fastened Appa's armor unto him and once they were finished, Appa began to stomp around in his new armor. Aang had also gone to the river where he had shaved off his hair and proudly gripped his new glider.

Jin, on the other hand, had gone off into a small nook where she morosely put on her gear. She strapped a small knife on her left thigh and tightened her arm and leg guards. She washed her face and as she stared at the reflection of the small pool, she began to feel despondent. She didn't look anything like a real leader.

While others had awesome outfits, all she had was her threadbare training clothes that was so frayed and dirty that it looked like rags and her arm and leg guards. All in all she didn't look like a proper leader of the Resistance. She looked like some girl who was running around in a costume pretending to be someone powerful. When Hakoda had instructed her to lead the Resistance members into taking down palace defenses and guarding them, she felt sick. Of all the places why the palace? Why does it have to be the place where she is most likely to run into _him? _

And after hearing all those scathing comments about her horrible leadership, Jin began to doubt herself. They were right. She sucked as a leader and they were better off with someone else leading them.

"Jin?"

She turned around and saw Sokka, coming forward uncertainly.

"Yeah?" Jin weakly said.

"We've been looking all over for you. The resistance dudes are waiting for you in the boat," Sokka said.

"Oh. Okay," Jin said as she swallowed thickly.

"Um….Jin?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you hear me? We have to go now. Everyone's waiting for you."

"No, they're not," Jin scowled.

"Yes, they are. They're waiting for their _leader_," Sokka carefully said.

"No they're not! They don't even want me as they're leader! Sokka…they hate me!" Jin said in frustration.

"I'm sure that's not—''

"Save it. I know that they hate me! I think that I'll just go with you guys," Jin sighed.

"But you can't!"

"And why not?"

"Because you have to go with the Resistance Members. They're counting on you Jin," Sokka persistently said.

"Sokka…I'm a bad leader! They would be better off without me," Jin said sadly. She didn't even know why she was saying things like these.

Before all of these happened, she used to be so optimistic. She firmly believed that there was a always a good side to things, a good side to a person even if everyone else didn't see it. Nothing fazed her because she believed that getting upset over little things only make your life shorter.

Before all these happened, she used to be so confident in herself. She knew who she was and what she was capable of and she knew that she would be able to do anything successfully if she put her mind to it. But now, she was plagued with self-doubts and her self-esteem is even lower than usual.

Before all these happened, she was careless. She was free, happy-go-lucky and didn't care about a thing in the world. But now she cared too much over such little things and she worried and she prattled.

Before all these happened, she used to look young and fresh. Her hair was long and shiny and her skin was smooth and supple. But after weeks of harsh living conditions and of walking under the harsh Fire Nation sun, her hair became dry and her skin became dusty from too much dirt. She still looked beautiful and the vestiges of her beauty were in no way marred, but she looked so different from before. She looked hardened and toughened.

Before all these, she used to smile a lot. She still smiled now, though most of the time she found herself smiling because it was instinctual but not genuine. It was a long time since she laughed and smiled for real, not just because it was a strange habit of her to always laugh off or smile off the many bad situations in the world.

The defeat of Ba Sing Se and the war had changed her yet _again. _

"Hey! Who are you and what have you done with Jin?" Sokka demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Jin demanded.

"Where's the Jin I know? The Jin who always believed that things would always come out right in the end?" Sokka said.

"Don't give me the pep talk Sokka. I'm a horrible leader," Jin sighed as she dropped her shoulder.

"And why's that?"

"'Cause I messed up," Jin exhaled.

"I messed up too," Sokka pointed out.

"What?"

"The invasion plan was my moment of truth. And I completely flopped it. I just fell apart," Sokka said, finally showing a look of disappointment.

"Sokka, that's different. That speech wasn't your moment of truth. That was just public speaking and nobody's really good at that," Jin frowned.

"My dad is. He explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone. Like a real leader should," Sokka said dejectedly.

"Look, your moment of truth isn't going to be in front of some map. It's going to be out there, on the battlefield," Jin said as she patted Sokka's back.

Sokka broke out into a grin and nudged Jin as he sat down next to her. Jin was suddenly aware that Sokka had both his hands behind his back.

"Hey, you should listen to yourself Ms. Smiley," Sokka snickered.

"What?"

"You should take a page from what you said. If you want to show all those resistance losers your moment of truth, then you have to go out there and prove it to them that your Jin, you're the Resistance leader, you kick butt and you're not going to take any of their baloney lying down!" Sokka said finishing with a flourish.

Jin's eyes glowed with realization. She murmured, "Yeah you're right….but still…"

"But what?"

"Sokka….I made a really big mistake back in Ba Sing Se. Something that cost me and everyone else the Resistance," Jin murmured.

Sokka had an idea what the "mistake" was from the rumors and accounts he's heard but he decided not to tell Jin. He merely nodded and said, "So what? Everyone screws up at one time or the other. Leaders are no exception."

Jin looked as if she was deep in thought. Finally she took a deep breath, cracked her knuckles and said a little more confidently, "You're right. I have to prove myself to them."

"And you're going to rock it!" Sokka said.

"Yeah! I will!" Jin said standing up.

Sokka rose and Jin frowned. He looked extremely imposing with his wolf headgear and his battle clothes. Sokka caught her look and grinned, "Bet you want a cool battle outfit like me huh?"

"Shut up Sokka!" Jin said frowning at his impish grin.

"I have a surprise for you…"

"Do you have to rub it in?"

"…Ta-Dah!" Sokka said as he produced a set of battle gear.

Jin stared at it with pure shock in her eyes. There was a helmet made out of pure stone that rested atop a small armor with stone-set cuff links. Two arm guards rigged with stone scales sat beside it along with one ankle guard made out of stone. Jin's chest nearly burst after realizing who owned all these things.

"These are my brother's," Jin's said, her voice barely audible.

"That little guy….who was it again? Nu—''

"Nuo—''

"Yeah, Nuo. He gave it to me saying that he and the others met your brother while my dad was patrolling Sozin Islands—''

"He's with them?" Jin asked hopefully.

"Er—no. But he did have enough time to hand these to Nuo before that bounty hunter guy chased him off—''

"Navi," Jin said through gritted teeth.

"Yep. Him. He left you his helmet and arm and ankle guards but…..Toph and I made the armor," Sokka said puffing his chest out in pride.

"No kidding? You made this armor for me?"

"We figured that you needed to wear something cool during the invasion too. And also, we wanted to cheer you up when you were sick. We had a little leftover money from um…Toph's scamming spree. And 'sides, Nu—''

"Nuo—''

"—gave us this helmet and arm guards and stuff, we figured that it would look pretty good with what we made you," Sokka said.

Jin smiled and began to put on the gear. The helmet was a little too big on her head but it didn't cover her eyes so Jin decided to wear it anyway. She fastened the arm guards and the ankle guards and she was happy to discover that the stones didn't feel heavy on her. Finally, she put the armor on and was happy to discover that it fit her like a glove. The workmanship on the armor was extraordinary and it felt light and nice on her.

Jin looked at her reflection and she was happy to see that she now looked respectable enough o fight the Resistance. Adrenaline was pumping into her now and she was filled with passion.

She was going to make sure Aang gets in the palace no matter what.

She just had to.

For her brother's sake.

* * *

"There they are. The grates gates of Azulon," Bato breathed as their boat inched closer.

"I don't see any gates," Katara whispered. All she saw was a massive statue of Azulon. A little narcissistic, yes, but threatening? Jin had to agree with Katara. That didn't look too threatening. But still, she wasn't taking any chances.

"Katara, you and the swamp benders whip up a fog cover," Hakoda ordered. Everyone seemed to have gone stiff and silent.

"We'll sneak by that statues just like we sneaked by that fire navy blockade," Tho nodded.

Katara and the swamp benders positioned themselves at the edge of the boat and began to make a series of gestures and stances. Soon, all the boats were covered in a thick fog. Jin leaned over along with Sokka as they neared the statue.

"Are we almost there?" Katara asked breathlessly as sweat beaded her forehead.

"Keep it up, we're almost through," Jin said.

As soon as she said that, she wished she didn't. An alarm sounded and smoke spewed from everywhere. Nets emerged from the dragons who were both at the side of Azulon, connecting themselves to Azulon's hands. Fire razed through the nets.

Sokka gaped in disbelief. He muttered, "If it weren't for the fact that we'll all probably die….that is so _cool!"_

"Everyone below deck!" Hakoda yelled. Jin immediately scrambled along with everyone else to their predestined places. The submarines were located at the bottom of each boat. Hai helped Jin climb down the submarine. The boat jolted, knocking her down but she steadied herself and managed to keep her balance. The sudden movement however, knocked her helmet off her head.

As Jin stooped over to pick it up she heard someone say, "She doesn't deserve to wear her brother's helmet…."

Jin froze and whipped her head trying to find out who said it. She was peering about suspiciously when Sokka came from behind Jin and said, "Ignore it."

"Huh?"

"_Ignore it_. Now come on. We're almost there," Sokka said before going off to meet the Mechanist. Jin felt numb as she fiddled with the helmet. She tried to calm herself down. She was going to prove her worth to them. She just had to so she could gain their trust.

Suddenly, the submarine heaved and went upwards.

"What's going on?" she asked Hai.

"The submarine only has a limited supply. We have to go back up to get some air," Hai explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Whoever designed this submarine….is pretty impressive!" Hai whistled.

"Why, thank you!" Sokka said proudly as they started to emerge out of the water.

"You designed this?" Hai asked in awe.

"Yup," Sokka proudly said.

Jin rolled her eyes and said, "Show-off."

"There's nothing wrong with being proud."

"Sure, sure," Jin patronizingly said. She started to climb up as she said, "I'm going up, okay?"

"Yeah! And tell Katara that we have to go back down, okay?" Sokka called.

"Sure."

Jin climbed up and felt extremely embarrassed when she saw Aang and Katara kissing. She was about climb back downstairs in her embarrassment, when Aang suddenly broke it off from Katara, faced the ocean and flew off in his glider.

Katara met Jin's eyes and blushed.

"Sokka….erm…told me that it's time to….submerge," Jin awkwardly said.

"What ? Right, I'm on it," Katara said snapping out of her dazed mood.

"Okay. I'll just….go back," Jin quickly said as went down.

Jin thought that it was so sweet of Aang to kiss Katara before the invasion. He was right in doing so. None of them knew if they were coming back alive.

Jin sighed as she sat back.

She suddenly wished that she and Zuko had the same romantic parting.

* * *

"Everyone in position. Earthbenders, into your tank," Hakoda said as soon as they landed. Jin hurried over to one tank along with Long while Toph went into the next tank with the Boulder. Guai scrambled off somewhere else while Nuo and Hai hurried to front, with Nuo pushing his glasses upwards.

"You ready for this Smiley?" Toph asked from the tank beside her as an explosion rocked the ground.

"Are _you_ ready?" Jin asked back.

"Ready? I'm more than ready to blow everyone sky high! Right Boulder!" Toph asked.

"The Boulder wants to crush some Fire Nation skulls!" the Boulder echoed.

Jin wanted to answer that she wasn't ready. Her heart was pounding and her chest felt heavy. She was about to speak when Hakoda yelled, "Launch!"

And everything was like a blur after that.

They pushed the tank forward and suddenly explosion and arrows started to pelt at them from everywhere. Jin couldn't stand being in the tank any longer. She began to feel restless. She immediately drilled herself out and burst into the scene of the battle.

"Resistance Members!" Jin yelled and everyone started to gather around them .

"We have to disable palace defenses for Aang to get through! I want a full-blown battery ram! I want us all to compress with two more up with me in the front, five at the back and seven on either side, you hear?" Jin yelled over the din of the noise. Behind her something exploded.

Hai, Nuo, Guai and Long nodded but the others continued to stare at her resentfully. Jin gritted her teeth.

"_You hear?" _ She said a little more forcefully this time. Her eyes blazed with passion

No one spoke.

Jin took a deep breath before saying, "I know you guys are mad at me….but you have to trust me! No….I said _did you hear_?"

Jin looked so scary and imposing in her full battle gear that everyone nodded quickly and did as Jin told. As soon as they were organized they forged on forward. Jin earthbent like she never did before. Armed, with new drills taught by Toph she quickly disposed anyone who tried to attack them from their front. Everyone stared at her in awe as she disarmed and flung a Firebender in mere minutes. Jin smiled proudly, knowing that she had gained a bit of their respect again.

"Jin look out!" Hai yelled.

A woman was pummeling her way towards Jin, riding a komodo-rhino as she did so. In her hand she carried a fiery whip. She lashed out at Jin and Jin barely made it out. Jin immediately attacked from below, working hard so that the woman might be flung off from the komodo-rhino. She sent earth columns and earth spikes as she twisted on the floor, furiously trying to avoid the whip.

Finally, Jin decided that her plan wasn't working. She rose up, somersaulted and landed on the back of the komodo-rhino behind that woman. Together the two of them fought on the komodo-rhino fighting to gain control. The woman dodged Jin's hit and spun around, elbowing Jin and nearly knocking her off. The komodo-rhino whirled about wildly making it difficult for Jin to maintain her balance. Finally Jin regained herself, twisted her body and with a loud thud, kicked the woman. The woman stared at Jin in surprise and as the komodo-rhino reared, Jin scrambled up, grabbed the reins and the woman lost her balance and fell.

Jin smiled to herself but her victory was short lived since the whip circled her wrist, the fire searing into her stone arm guards, making marks on it.

"Get off you Earth Kingdom peasant!" she hissed as she tightened the whip..

"No…you get off!" Jin snapped as she fought the pain, pulled her wrist forward thereby pulling the girl along with her. The girl stumbled forward and slammed into the komodo-rhino. As she did so, Jin got a closer look at her uniform and realized that she didn't look like a member of the Royal guard.

"You're not from the Royal guard!" Jin said out loud.

"I'm not but you should not take me lightly girl! I'm one of the wardens for the disgraced dragon of the west!" the girl hissed.

Jin suddenly faltered.

"The-the dragon of the west? You mean Mu—I mean Iroh?" Jin said.

"Aargh!" the girl yelled lunging at Jin. The Komodo-rhino began to stomp around throwing the two of them off it. Jin regained her focus and using all her strength she earthbent an earth wall that sent the woman backwards, into a stone wall. Jin immediately earthbent her to it and drew closer.

In a threatening voice Jin hissed, "You're a warden for the dragon of the west, huh? Now….tell me. Where is the dragon of the west imprisoned?"

* * *

"Listen everyone! I want those tanks on wedge formation! Benders and warriors at the middle. We're taking the tower and heading for the palace!" Sokka roared to the multitudes fighting around him. The battle was in full swing. They were so close to the Royal Palace now and the eclipse was going to happen in a few minutes. They needed to double their efforts.

He heard the loud clomping of footsteps. Sokka looked down from his place on the roof and his eyes widened as soon as he saw Jin riding a komodo-rhino looking fierce and proud. She had replaced the Fire Nation flag stuck on the Komodo-rhino with an earth kingdom one.

"Sokka!" Jin called.

Sokka withdrew from his awe.

"We're going to help you penetrate the palace!" Sokka roared skidding off the roof.

Jin nodded, understanding. She faced the Resistance members.

"Earthbenders at the edge! Form an Earth armor!" Jin ordered.

Sokka protested, "Wait, Jin! I said that benders should be in the middle—''

"We need a defense!"

"Huh?"

"We only have a few minutes left before the eclipse! Trust me!" Jin yelled. She started to speed ahead.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to do something! You handle it for awhile!" Jin said as she rushed off.

Sokka nodded and scrambled in their wedge. He wasn't so sure about Jin's plan but he trusted her. There was a way that she moved in battle that suggested that she's been in situations like these before. He yelled, "Do as Jin said! Benders at the edge!"

* * *

Jin's heart beat as she sped towards the Iroh's prison cell. This was too good to be true. She had to save him and to find him. She knew that the eclipse was about to happen and that she should be with Aang but she immediately knew that he didn't need her at that moment. He had Katara, Sokka and Toph to help him. Right now, Iroh needed her and she was going to help him.

She knew that saving him would probably earn more angry expressions from the resistance members, but Jin felt it in her heart that Zuko's uncle had nothing to do with his shenanigans. Why else was he imprisoned? Jin bit her lip. Then again, that's what she thought about Zuko at first too.

"The eclipse is happening!"

"The sun! The sun!"

"Firebenders, retreat!"

Jin stopped and looked at the sky. She could see a dark round shape slowly overcome it, blocking it and darkening the surroundings. Jin fumbled around for the glasses the Mechanist gave her and immediately she put them on.

She had very little time to lose. Once the eclipse happened, Iroh would be powerless.

She urged the komodo-rhino faster and with that she hurried towards the prison cell. By the time she got there, the eclipse fully happened. She hurried up the stairs but before she could kick the door open she heard loud, startled cries, banging noises and cusses. Jin felt nervous and her fingers trembled slightly, anxious at what was behind that door. But she quickly calmed herself and without a second's thought she flung the door open.

"Jin?"

* * *

"Why are you here ?" Ozai demanded as Zuko entered his father's bunker. Zuko's knuckles whitened as his father addressed him. This was it. This was his moment of truth. And he could not screw this up.

He was going to tell his father off. He was going to tell his father his wrongdoings and what Zuko planned to do.

"I'm here to tell the truth," Zuko confidently answered back.

"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting," Ozai said, his lips curling into a smile. He waved his hand and the guards immediately left.

"First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me," Zuko began.

Ozai didn't look too rattled. He merely said, "Why would she lie to me about that ?"

"Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived," Zuko said it calmly and quietly though the words crashed around Ozai's ears.

"_What?"_ Ozai roared.

"In fact, he probably is leading this invasion. He could be on to us right now," Zuko said. For once, he wasn't losing his cool. Compared to his father, Zuko was a cucumber.

"_Get out!_ Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!" Ozai shouted as he stood up and pointed at Zuko.

"That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore," Zuko declared.

"You will obey me or this defiant breathe will be your last!" Ozai yelled.

"Think again! I am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen," Zuko forcefully said. Ozai could barely regain the shock of his son talking back to him. Zuko faced his father calmly. He wasn't going to be afraid of his father anymore.

He was going to speak his mind and he was going to make his father listen.

* * *

Jin could barely speak.

"Mushi?"

She had said Mushi before she could stop herself. Jin bit her lip and silently reprimanded herself for forgetting his real name.

She felt like a child as she stood before him. Iroh had changed over the past few weeks. He wasn't the big, soft, plushy teddy bear she had remembered him to be. Instead, his face had a fierce expression on his face, his soft, flabby tummy had grown muscled and his hair looked ravaged. Iroh looked so wide and massive compared to Jin's slim and slender form. Jin still towered over him but still, Iroh looked so different and so unfamiliar and so _Fire Nation-like_ that it gripped Jin's heart and made her feel more emotional than she expected.

Things changed so fast. Even Mushi had changed into some sort of mean and buff fighting machine.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Iroh said serenely. His face had melted into an expression of kindness once again and Jin was suddenly reminded of his silent trickiness and getting her and Zuko together. Thinking about those happy times in Ba Sing Se made her feel cold and distant and lost.

"I—I came to rescue you," Jin said finding her voice. It cracked a little. She looked around and saw the knocked down furniture, the bent iron bars and the warden knocked-out cold on the floor.

Jin found herself smiling and she said, "Though it seems as if you didn't need rescuing at all."

"It seems so. You seemed surprise," Iroh commented.

"I just didn't expect it," Jin smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you are old, Mushi," Jin grinned.

"My dear, I am not _that_ old," Iroh chuckled. They stared at each other in silence before Jin finally broke it by running towards Iroh and giving him a warm hug.

"You shouldn't have come. You've missed the eclipse," Iroh whispered.

"The eclipse is just the eclipse," Jin said.

"Oh but on the contrary, it's one of the most beautiful things in the world," Iroh said.

"How so? You're powerless because of it," Jin pointed out.

"That depends on whose perspective. I don't know if you've noticed but I just knocked down the warden," Iroh said

"I missed you Mushi," Jin said.

"As did I. How are you holding up with Ba Sing Se captured?" Iroh asked.

"Okay I guess," Jin said

"I'm glad to hear that," Iroh said as Jin leaned back.

"You're so….you're so…"

"So what?" Iroh asked.

"_Muscly_ now, Mushi. You're not huggable anymore," Jin said and she gave a little pout.

"Ah….but we have to adapt to suit to the times. And I don't know if you've realized this, but time's moving very fast," Iroh said.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out," Jin smiled though her eyes looked sad.

"But you are still more beautiful than moon flowers Jin. You look so ravishing in that armor. My nephew would probably have a heart attack if he's seen you right now," Iroh said.

Jin's face darkened visibly at the mention of Zuko. Iroh realized it because he said quickly, "Speaking of my nephew, I take it that you're not in good terms with him?"

"Don't even mention his name! He's nothing but a no-good liar!" Jin spat angrily.

"Ah…but you judge him too harshly Jin. He's been through a lot—''

"But that's no excuse to act like the way he's been behaving! I don't know if you've heard…but he made me look stupid and incapable of leading in front of the whole Resistance!" Jin said, feeling her previous anger rise back up.

"Don't be too hard in him. I beg of you Jin—''

"Are you kidding me? He's the one that got you stuck in this rat hole! How could you still ask me to not be hard on him?" Jin yelled, her voice echoing through the prison cell. Behind her, the warden stirred.

"I don't know," Iroh shrugged.

Jin stared at him blankly.

"But he's my nephew and that's what I _do_ know. He's my nephew and he's the only family I have left—well the only one _decent_ that is. He's my nephew and I'm still proud of him regardless of the things he's done. He's my nephew and he's lost and confused and unsure of his destiny. But I have no doubt in my heart that he will be able to find it someday," Iroh said.

"I don't care about that. I'll never forgive him for as long as he lives!" Jin growled.

"The eclipse is about to end soon…" Iroh said ignoring her previous statement and looking up.

Jin craned her ear and heard the noises of the fight outside.

"You have to come with us! Aang's out there fighting the Avatar now! The war will be over!" Jin said as she grabbed Iroh's hand and started to tug it.

"I'm sorry to tell you this Jin but the Fire Lord and my brother is _not _in the palace," iroh said.

"_What?"_

"He's probably hiding off somewhere. That's a protocol of safety for the Royal Family. It's been used many times when invasion attacks happen," Iroh said gravely.

"No! That can't be! This is Aang's only chance—''

"I don't want to disappoint you Jin but in a few minutes the eclipse will be back and your friends will need your help," Iroh declared.

"Then we don't have much time! Come on!" Jin said.

"No. I must take a different path from you for awhile," Iroh said as he shook his head.

"But—''

"I have to go now."

"Where will you go?"

"To some old friends," Iroh mysteriously said.

Jin was about to argue when Iroh said, "Jin, my nephew will find his way some day. I'm _begging _you to please find it in your heart to accept him and forgive him when he does."

"I can never forgive him. And he's stupid and evil! He'll never find his way!" Jin darkly said.

"He will. And when he does, I'll be very proud of him," Iroh said. Jin merely scowled.

Iroh didn't say anymore. He merely bowed his head and said fondly, "I hope we will meet again Jin."

"Yeah, I hope we'll meet again too," Jin said as she bowed respectfully.

Iroh smiled, gestured at the wall and said, "Do you mind?"

Jin looked wall and nodded in understanding. She said, "My pleasure."

She backed away and in one swift motion, she earthbent a huge, gaping hole on the wall sending debris of rocks everywhere. She and Iroh hugged one last time before Iroh turned around and with such grace and power that Jin had never dreamed that he possessed, he leaped out of the hole and started to run.

Jin watched him, what he had said about Zuko ringing in her ears.

* * *

Zuko took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he readied to face his father. He needed to get his point as eloquently as he could though it was slightly difficult with his father's penetrating and seething glare.

"For so long, all I wanted was you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn," Zuko scowled. He pointed a sword at his father and continued, "My father, who challenged me; a 13-year-old boy to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?"

"It was to teach you respect," Ozai scowled.

"It was cruel! And it was wrong!" Zuko snapped angrily.

"Then you have learned nothing," Ozai coldly concluded.

"No, I've learnt everything! And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness," Zuko continued and as he said all these to his father he began to understand a bit more why he had decided to do the right thing once and for all.

"Your Uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he ?" Ozai mockingly said as he laughed.

Zuko smiled at his father and said proudly, "Yes. He has."

* * *

"Whoa!"

Jin jumped off the komodo-rhino and rolled over as a set of arrows barreled right to her. She rose up and was horrified to see that five fire nation guards were upon her all pointing weapons in her direction. Jin tried to desperately ward them off before the eclipse was finished and they would get their bending abilities back though the fact that they were left power-less only seemed to make them angrier. Jin blocked a spear, grabbed it, and twisted it so that it sent her flying unto the rooftop. She quickly ran trying to avoid the mob.

Jin wondered how Aang and the rest were holding up. Had Aang already subdued the Fire Lord? Was Azula and Zuko defeated?

Jin scowled at the thought of Zuko. She recalled what Iroh said and she wondered if she would be able to do as he asked. She wasn't so sure. The fresh wound of being made an incompetent leader was now freshly opened with the resistance member's visible anger and resentment towards Jin. What hurt about it the most was that he knew how much she had put on the line for him. What hurt the most was she actually liked him and he just took that for granted.

Suddenly an explosion happened to her left and it sent her rolling headfirst into the ground. Jin groaned dizzily and looked up and fear gripped her heart. The eclipse was over. The sun was there, bright and shining.

She waited for the cheers to explode from their side. She waited for the retreat of all the Firebenders. She waited for the cries of victory. She waited for Aang to lead the royal family out into the street in shackles. She waited.

And she waited.

And she waited.

But nothing happened.

Which meant only one thing.

They had lost.

* * *

"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He is the one who has been a real father to me," Zuko declared.

Ozai chuckled sarcastically and said, "That's just beautiful. Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."

"But I've come to an even more important decision," Zuko said. Ozai stared at him angrily.

"I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you," Zuko spat. Ozai was on the verge of biting Zuko's head.

"Really ? Since you're a full blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait I'm powerless, you've got your swords, why don't you just do it now ?" Ozai asked slyly.

"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny," Zuko said calmly. He sheathed his sword, turned around and said simply, "Goodbye."

"Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me but you'll only do it during an eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the Sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your Mother ?" Ozai yelled as he stood up.

Zuko stopped in front of the door and Ozai grinned venomously.

"What happened that night ?" Zuko demanded, losing his cool which he had desperately tried to keep.

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it. Your Mother had found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared," Ozai said, his smile becoming wider and his face becoming more and more like Azula's.

"Your Mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished," Ozai finished.

"So she's alive," Zuko gasped.

The emotion was too much for Zuko. He felt overwhelmed and he couldn't fight the tear that escaped his eye. The revelation was too much. It caused Zuko to lose his focus for a brief moment.

"Perhaps. Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be _far_ steeper," Ozai declared, his voice becoming more and more venomous. His father stepped forward, swung his arms out creating two arcs of electricity from the tips of his fingers. Zuko had barely time to react before realizing what his father was about to do. Ozai thrust his fingers forward at Zuko, sending a massive and incredible bolt towards him. What happened next was far too quick for Zuko to look back upon and it went through like a dream.

Out of pure instinct, Zuko held his fingertips out and caught the lightning. His body slid backwards as the force of the lightning burst through his body.

The feeling was sensational. It made him feel alive and free and the energy that surged through his body made him powerful. He felt as if he could take down a whole army. The lightning surrounded his body and made his hair stand on its end. Zuko sunk down and pulled his arms as the electricity ran through his body. He thrust his hand forward and redirected the bolt of lightning towards his father's direction.

The bolt struck the ground which was mere inches away from where Ozai stood. The force of the lightning knocked his father off his feet and sent him pummeling into the tapestry behind him. Ozai gave a startled cry and hastily tried to straighten himself out as hair drooped across his face.

Zuko and his father stared at each other disbelief.

He did it.

He redirected lightning.

And what was even more unbelievable was that he stood up to his father.

* * *

A burst of fire nearly grazed Jin's left as she nimbly dodged it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the upper hand of the battle was going to the Fire Nation. Jin and the Firebender dueled sending bursts of the earth and fire against each other, parrying blows and dodging attacks. Jin lost focus as her head throbbed again.

She was exhausted. She wanted nothing more to do than to lie down on her sleeping mat. The Firebender sent an arc of flame towards her and she backed away. Her eyes widened after realizing that it was a wall. Jin quickly jumped up to avoid the fire but she could feel fear in her heart. She had been herded into a closed alleyway. She had no way out.

Jin cracked her knuckles and sent an earth wall towards him. It sent him flying backwards but it did not knock him down. Instead it made him angrier. He gave a loud cry before sending a wave of fire towards her. Jin blocked it and tried to hit him with an earth column which he easily dodged. He raised his arms ready to throw something at her again when suddenly a water whip hooked his wrist and sent him flying outwards.

"Katara!" Jin cried in relief.

"Come on! We have to go!" Katara said.

"Where? To the submarines?"

"No. _To Appa_," Katara said as she pointed upwards. Jin looked up and saw the looming figure of Appa flying.

"What happened? Where's Aang?" Jin asked as she rushed towards Katara.

"_It's over._ Azula tricked us," Katara sadly.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked not quite believing it.

"Azula plotted every single move. We lost," Katara bitterly said.

"Where's everyone else? In the submarines?" Jin asked.

"The submarines are gone. They blew them up," Katara said with much acidity in her voice.

"But—but how will everyone else escape?" Jin asked.

"They won't," Katara shortly said as Appa descended.

After looking at their despondent faces, Jin understood.

They lost.

They lost and no one wanted to talk about it.

That suited Jin just fine. She was used to never talking about anything.

Sokka and Haru held their hands out and helped Katara and Jin as they climbed up on Appa. With a heavy yip-yip Appa rose high into the air giving them a depressing view of their captured comrades.

"Hey guys! I think a fire nation balloon is following us," Jin said as she saw a small speck tailing them.

Sokka sighed and dismissively, "It's too far away. They can't catch up."

"Yeah…they can't catch up," Aang echoed in a hollow voice.

Jin saw his gloomy expression and immediately she understood. She gripped Aang's shoulder and said, "We'll win next time."

Aang looked away from her, shame coloring his voice, "If there _is_ a next time."

* * *

_There you have it! Another chapter down! So…anyway, at first I was going to make two separate chapters for the Day of the Black Sun but then I decided that it would be too long and you guys would probably be sick of me just re-writing the whole episode down. So I just collapsed it into one chapter. _

_So sorry if I'm late in updating lately. Finals are up and my shifts at my job are getting more erratic with one of my co-workers sick so I'm kinda having trouble trying to find time to squeeze writing these down. But I promise you that the latest I'll probably ever update is two weeks When finals are over, I'm going to get back on updating faster (though before and now probably didn't have too much difference._

_Thanks to those who read this and favorite it._

_Special thanks to: SkorpionQueen012, Alana C. Jones, Suki17 and ArrayePL for reviewing._

_Always, always remember to R&R!_


	18. Part XVII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XVII_

"This is humiliating," Katara declared breathlessly as they continued to forge on forward. Behind her Sokka looked downtrodden and weary with his shining, sweaty face and his despondent expression. Toph was trudging behind the Duke and Teo who were moving with their eyes closed. Aang walked on with a disappointed expression on his face as Momo rested atop his head while Haru looked sadly on, his shoulders dropped and his face drooping. Jin looked thoroughly distracted as she hung in the back. She failed them. She failed everyone in the Resistance _again._ This was her chance to prove to them that she can handle this, that she can be a capable leader of the Resistance. This was her big chance—and she _failed._

She couldn't even rescue any of the Resistance Members. Katara told her that they didn't have time, everyone in the Resistance were condensed in the central area of the capital city and according to Hakoda, their forces there have already been defeated as soon as the eclipse was over. Jin sighed heavily—she felt slightly angry at herself. Maybe if she hadn't wasted her time looking for Iroh, she could've helped Aang. Looking for Iroh was a waste of time; the old man was more than capable of taking care of himself. Jin suddenly wished that she had thought trough her decisions much better. The Resistance members were right. She was a terrible leader who didn't deserve to be their leader. She should just go to some hole and bury herself there until the war is over or possibly until she dies.

"Do you mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation, or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?" Sokka inquired sarcastically as Katara turned her head towards him.

"Both," Katara dejectedly said as she looked away.

Aang suddenly spoke up in a sheepish tone, "Sorry guys, but Appa gets tired carrying all these people."

Appa gave a mighty roar of agreement.

"I wonder how the rest of the troops are," Teo thoughtfully said.

"They're probably on their way to a prison. Seems like my dad just got out, now he's going back in," Haru sighed loudly.

"I miss Pipsqueak," the Duke said loudly.

"I miss not having blisters on my feet," Sokka declared as he looked up at Appa.

"I just miss everything before the war in general," Jin said, speaking for the first time. Everyone looked in surprised and turned to look at her. She didn't seem to be in a mood for talking, with them losing on Jin's biggest chance to prove the Resistance Members wrong. She didn't look like her chipper self and her mouth was drawn into a sad, thin line.

"Well, I miss the badger-moles," Toph piped up.

"And I miss my hair loopies," Katara giggled. The mood elevated slightly and everyone gave a small laugh as they proceeded forward. It didn't take long before Jin and everyone else felt better.

"So, what's got your beef?" Sokka asked as he hung in the back with Jin.

"Nothing's got my beef. I'm perfectly fine," Jin murmured as she looked away from Sokka.

"No, seriously Jin. What's up? You haven't spoken since we left," Sokka pointed out. He was starting to notice that Jin wasn't as cheerful as she used to be and though he admitted that it once annoyed him to no ends, he was beginning to miss his severely optimistic friend. He could use a sprinkle of Jin's happy camper sunshine right now because he was feeling downright depressed.

"I'm….I'm just so _angry _at myself. I was just so stupid! I should've come with you guys," Jin said her face contorting into a spasm of sadness.

"Yeah….well we're _all_ stupid. We fell for Azula's plan. She had it all figured out," Sokka sighed.

"I didn't things through. I'm never usually like that. I just don't act on impulse. I don't know why I just…just went there," Jin said her eyes displaying frustration.

"Speaking of which….what were you doing during that time anyway?" Sokka asked curiously. While they were trying to attack Azula, she had told them a handful of interesting things, one of which was a very prevalent implication that Jin and the evil firebending Prince Jerkface dated once upon a time in Ba Sing Se. Aang was too busy trying to find the Fire Lord so only Sokka really caught that comment properly. That and coupled with the fact that Jin never takes a jab at Prince Jerkface and the Resistance Members' plethora of stories as to how Jin caused the downfall of the Resistance gave Sokka a sneaking suspicion that what Azula was spouting off was not just another lie.

"What?" Jin faltered and stared at Sokka in surprise.

"Where were you anyway? You know during that time when you said you had to do something," Sokka said. He knew that he shouldn't push it, especially when he was talking to Jin—a person who never lets her true feelings and secrets out so easily. Jin was as hard as a rock when it came to questioning. But he was enormously curious and he felt that if Jin and Prince Jerkface were dating, then maybe he should start thinking of a plan to make her forget about him because from the looks of it she wasn't completely over him yet. Sokka was afraid of the possibility that Jin might go over to the enemy's side.

And he just couldn't bear the thought of his best friend (yes, they were sort of best friends by now) going over to the Fire Nation all for Prince Jerkface, a guy who did not deserve a girl as awesome as her.

"Oh…me? I was just um….I went to rescue a friend," Jin said, her voice quavering at first but as soon as she said the last few words, her voice became firm.

"Which friend?" Sokka said.

"An old Earth Kingdom friend I met in Ba Sing Se," Jin smoothly said though Sokka noticed that she wasn't looking at him straight in the eye.

"What's his name?" Sokka prodded.

"Why do you care?"

"_I just want to know."_

"Um…Mushi," Jin said, thinking of no other names as she said this. She bit her lip and subconsciously wrung her hands, a sign that Sokka knew she was lying.

"You know Azula said something back there," Sokka significantly said, hoping to get some sort of reaction from Jin.

"Oh really?" Jin said. Sokka noticed that she started to walk faster. He matched her steps stride by stride.

"It was probably just another lie. You know…something to distract us some more," Sokka said easily.

"What was it about?" Jin's voice sounded calm though she looked nervous.

"Oh….just that you and Prince Jerkface were dating," Sokka carefully said as he watched her face for any reaction.

Jin's eyes widened and she paused in mid-step as soon as Sokka said it though she quickly recovered. She rapidly walked on and said as she gave off a nervous laugh, "Really? Yeah…you're right! It's probably just a lie….how ridiculous! Me and Li—Zuko dating? I haven't even met him yet."

Sokka rounded up on her, ready to fire more questions when Toph suddenly declared, "Hey, we're here. I can feel it."

"Oh, look at that. We're here. I'll just go ahead," Jin said as she eagerly darted away from Sokka. Sokka frowned; annoyed that Toph interrupted him and Jin when he almost had his piece of information.

"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked," Katara said as she looked around and saw nothing but mist.

"No, she's right," Aang said as Jin looked at him in surprise. She too saw nothing.

"_We are here,_" Aang said as he pointed downwards. Everyone rushed over to the edge of the cliff and were shocked to discover that each and every pagoda was built upside down. Statues of male and female airbenders dotted the place. A cold mist curled throughout the whole temple.

Despite her dour mood, Jin felt breathless as she peered over the edge. She said in an awed tone, "Wow, it's amazing."

* * *

As soon as they all settled in, Jin changed out of her threadbare Earth Kingdom clothes back into her Fire Nation ones. Jin had asked Katara to repair some of the edges and maybe rework some of the fabric since the invasion made it more thin and loose. Haru could barely control the blush that was rushing to his face as soon as he saw Jin in her light and…slightly revealing Fire Nation outfit. She had lost some of her leggings so she had to make do without them, giving complete exposure to a great deal of her legs. Everyone settled around the steaming pot of soup Katara whipped up for them and Haru tripped all over himself, hoping Jin will sit next to him. Much to his disappointment (and to Jin's utter relief), Katara gestured for her to sit next to her and Jin gladly obliged.

"It's so different from the Northern Air Temple. I wonder if there are any secret rooms," Teo mused thoughtfully as soon as he finished his soup.

Haru smiled, stood up and beckoned the others to join him, "Let's go check it out."

Aang stood up ready to follow them, when Katara blocked him with his glider and said, "You guys go... I think we need to talk about some things."

Aang took his glider back and looked nervous. Before they left, Haru looked back and said a little hopefully, "Do you want to go Jin?"

Jin rapidly shook her head and said, "Um…I think I'll just stay here for awhile. You know….rest my feet."

Haru looked disappointed but he nodded nevertheless and scampered off as soon as Teo and Duke called out to him.

"You know…I think Haru has a thing for you," Toph said.

"No! Don't be stupid!" Jin scoffed.

"Yes he does and besides what's so wrong with that anyway? You two would make a great couple…unless you know…you already like someone else," Sokka meaningfully said as he alluded to Jin and Prince Jerkface's relationship while trying to make Jin forget about Zuko at the same time with Haru.

"Look, could we go back to the main point here. I though you guys needed to talk to Aang about something," Jin said as she looked away.

"Why can't I go?" Aang demanded.

"We need to decide what we're gonna do now. And since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this," Katara said seriously.

Aang grouchily leaned his staff against the stone bench, crossed his arms and sat down.

"Fair enough. So, what's the new plan?" Aang sighed. He didn't look ready to discuss something like this but Katara wasn't letting him off the hook. This was something they all needed to figure out and this was something Aang could not avoid. Sokka and Jin stopped their growing banter and sat up, listening to the conversation intently while Toph gave her undivided and full attention.

"Well, if you ask me, the _new_ plan is the _old_ plan. You just need to master all four elements, and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes," Sokka shrugged.

Aang scowled, grabbed a pebble and flicked it away saying sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, that's great. No problem, I'll just do that."

"No one said that it's going to be easy, Aang," Katara said as she laid a hand on his arm and said comfortingly.

"Well, it's not even gonna be possible. Where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?" Aang scowled.

"We could look for Jeong Jeong," Katara said, her brows furrowed deep in thought.

"Yeah right, like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again," Aang said as he laid on a bench and carelessly dismissed Katara's idea.

Toph suddenly sat up looking confused. She said, "Who's - Oh, never mind. If it's important, I'll find out."

"How about you Jin? Do you know_ anyone_ in the Fire Nation that you could recommend?" Sokka asked, raising his brows at Jin.

Jin flushed and quickly snapped, "No. I don't think so."

"Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody. Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?" Aang suggested as he stood up, grabbed his glider before bounding off. He ran towards the edge, unfolded his glider and flew off leaving Katara dumbstruck and everyone else speechless.

Toph whistled and said, "What's up with him?"

"He just needs time to come around. Maybe now wasn't the best time to talk to him about this," Katara worriedly said.

"I'm sure we'll figure this out," Jin smiled, her ridiculously upbeat nature returning.

Sokka brought his chin down his hand and said thoughtfully, "There's got to be someone who can teach him firebending….."

* * *

It didn't take long for Zuko to start panicking. How was he going to convince everyone that he was no longer against them? What was he going to do? Zuko started to sweat profusely and after many minutes of deliberation, he decided that he should probably get his "I-want-to-teach-the-avatar-firebending" speech straightened out before he tried it on the Avatar for real.

And so far, he was having a very,_ very_ miserable time.

"Hello, Zuko here," Zuko said as he raised his arm in greeting. He began to fidget as he thought of what to say next. After thinking about it he continued, "But I guess you probably already know me... sort of."

He scratched the back of his head. That sounded stupid.

"I have a lot of firebending experience, and I'm…" he forced a smile out, making a mental note that it would probably make him less hostile if he offered a smile.

"…considered to be pretty good at it," he said as he proudly put a hand on his chest. It would probably be good also if he appeared confident.

"Well, you've seen me... you know, when I was attacking you?" Zuko paused after realizing his verbal mistake. He slapped his fingers against his forehead in embarrassment. He nervously added, "I should apologize for that."

He looked around nervously before waving his hand dismissively and saying, "But anyway, I'm good now."

Zuko suddenly raised his palms up in defense and said, "I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad."

Zuko internally groaned as he became more and more uncomfortable. He said, "Ugh, but anyway... I think it's time I joined your group, and taught…"

He straightened up and tried to muster his most sincere expression as he said, "…the Avatar firebending."

The badger frog merely croaked.

The stupid badger frog just _croaked._

Zuko could barely contain his frustration, "Well, what's your answer?"

The badger frog gave him one last croak, before jumping on his head and hopping away. Zuko sighed dejectedly and said, "Yeah, that's what I'd say too."

This was not going well. He was already spouting off pure stupidity and to think, this was just practice. This wasn't even the actual thing yet.

"How am I supposed to convince these people I'm on their side? What would Uncle do?" Zuko scowled to himself.

Zuko then started to pretend that he had an imaginary beard and he started to pace around saying in a slightly scratchy voice with an air of a wizened master, "Zuko, you have to look within yourself, to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself."

That did not help in the least bit. If anything it made him all the more confused.

Zuko scowled and nearly tore all his hair out. He said, "Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what he means. What would Azula do?"

Zuko raised his voice to a higher pitch, started to move his body in a way that was feminine and said, "Listen, Avatar, I can join your group or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends."

He then folded his arm arrogantly and said, "Your choice."

Suddenly the badger frog hopped in front of him again, startling him and causing him to move backwards. It fixed its small beady eyes on Zuko and gave a mighty croak.

Zuko took the hint. He sighed and said, "I guess I'm not that good at impersonations."

The badger frog seemed to croak in agreement.

Zuko rubbed his hands together and decided that now as the perfect time to say something to the Avatar. He quickly hurried down towards the temple, ready to deliver whatever he had to say but as he neared towards them he paused and his heart nearly had a spasm. For sitting there, along with the Avatar and his friends, in a circle, was _Jin_. She was sitting with her back turned to him. Of course! How could he have forgotten? Jin was with the Avatar now! Zuko panicked at the last minute. He spun on his heels and turned around.

Now wasn't the time to say something to the Avatar for a number of reasons. Actually, just one reason. And that was Jin. He had no idea what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to act towards her. He began to worry of how she thought of him now? Does she hate him? Or does she still like him?

Zuko scampered off, hearing Toph's voice as she said, ""Who's - Oh, never mind. If it's important, I'll find out."

* * *

Zuko decided that since he got his "I-want-to-teach-the-avatar-firebending" speech down, he might as well get his "Jin-I'm-really-sorry-please-forgive-me" speech all figured out. He thought long and hard about this and decided that he couldn't push through speaking with the Avatar without really figuring out what to say to Jin first. He thought that maybe he should tell her a few things like how he missed her, how he still sort of likes her and most of all…how sorry he is for what he had done to her.

"Hey…Jin. Um…Zuko, here," Zuko said as he raised a hand out in greeting. He gulped nervously as he tried to picture what sort of reaction she would harbor.

"But I guess you don't need an introduction 'cause you already know me….'cause we were you know….we used to date back in Ba Sing Se…._sort of,_" Zuko mumbled as he looked at the ground unsure of how to continue.

"So…yeah….you look really pretty today. I mean you always look pretty, even back in Ba Sing Se but you know I'm just saying," Zuko babbled incessantly.

"So….anyway, I came here because I'm going to teach the Avatar firebending because you know…I'm a Firebender. Oh and about that…I guess I should apologize for not telling you," Zuko hung his head sheepishly.

Realizing that he said something stupid once again, he quickly said, "But I'm good now. I mean I was always good…I never really wanted to be bad, it's just that Azula made me look bad so you thought that I wasn't good but I actually wanted to be good it's just that circumstances made me bad."

That sounded extremely confusing in Zuko's ears.

"So what I really meant to say was...I know I did wrong by you with destroying the Resistance and all and before we left we sort of got on the wrong foot so all I wanted to say is that I'm sorry and I hope we can work this out and start over because I really…_really_ like you," Zuko finished, with a sense of pride since he felt that he did that second piece particularly well.

Then the badger frog croaked and hopped away.

"Wait! Jin! Don't be like that! Just give me a chance to—''

Zuko stopped himself and decided that he was acting extremely ridiculous. He was yelling at a stupid badger frog!

"What would uncle tell me?" Zuko briefly wondered and with that, Zuko started another bout of Iroh impersonations.

"Zuko…you must know that a way to a woman's heart is simple sincerity. Just open your heart out to Jin and make her see your true self which is masked by your other self so she won't see another self other than your true self," Zuko said in the same advising tone Iroh often used.

Zuko scowled in frustration after realizing that that was very unhelpful.

He decided not to impersonate Azula since Azula would probably just barbecue Jin without saying a word.

He released a stream of smoke from his nostrils after realizing that the only way he was going to ever push through with this was to talk to the Avatar and his friends.

And he must make Jin understand also.

The badger frog croaked a good luck to Zuko as he sped off.

* * *

He made camp in a dense forest a few meters away from the Western Air Temple. He had chosen that spot specifically because it provided a good view of the Western Air Temple and if Aang and his friends ever decided to leave before he could talk to them, then he would be the first to know. He expertly scrambled through the vast hallways of the Western Air Temple, having been there before with his uncle three years ago. The memory made him feel distant and sad and he suddenly yearned for the chance to talk and to apologize to his uncle.

It made him think about all those times he has done wrong against perfectly good people.

Suddenly, as he passed through the halls in search of the Avatar, a nostalgic feeling swept over him. He started to remember Ba Sing Se and all its noisy and overcrowded glory. He remembered Jin and the thought of her image flowed freely in his brain. Her adorable, small nose, her large, expressive eyes and the smell of earth and all her scents wafted through Zuko's senses. He suddenly remembered all those happy times they spent in Ba Sing Se and he suddenly realized that he missed those times so much.

It suddenly occurred to him how much he wanted this to work out. How much he wanted he and Jin to work out.

"Aang, can we talk about you learning firebending now?"

Zuko paused. That was the water tribe girl's voice.

"What? The wind is too loud in my ears. Check out this loop," he heard the Avatar chortle.

Zuko started to grow nervous. They were coming closer. What was he supposed to say again?

"Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future," he heard another male voice say. A deeper one this time. He guessed that it was the water tribe girl's brother.

"Ok, we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table. Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber," Aang said.

Zuko readied himself. They were coming closer. He suddenly wished that Jin wasn't with them so he didn't have to deal with her.

All of them emerged from the corner with Aang, Sokka and Katara looking at each other and with Jin trailing them from behind. Toph suddenly paused once she saw him and she said seriously, "I think that'll have to wait."

Everyone turned to look at Zuko as Toph pointed at him. Aang stared at Zuko open-mouthed while Katara and Sokka froze. Jin could barely regain herself as she stared slack-jawed at him. Then after a few seconds, their expressions melted from shock to anger. Everyone tensed considerably and formed hostile stances with Katara holding a hand to her water satchel, ready to waterbend Zuko to the next county, Aang pointing his glider at Zuko and Sokka holding his boomerang out and gripping his sword tightly. Only Toph and Jin didn't look angry. Toph looked nonchalant while Jin still looked shell-shocked.

Zuko attempted a friendly smile, raised his hand up and said, "Hello, Zuko here."

* * *

Zuko decided that sneaking up on them was not the best way to start things. He clicked at his teeth nervously and began to twiddle his thumbs out of the awkwardness of the whole situation. His eyes were kept on the ground for a long time but he finally had the courage to look up.

He did so and then he wished he didn't.

The first person he ever saw when he looked up was Jin.

And. She. Looked. Stunning.

She was dressed in Fire Nation garb—she was wearing a halter-like top that exposed her smooth and flat belly, her skirt which felt just below her knee was slit at the sides showing off her toned and slender legs, her hair was loose save for the topknot fastened with a small headpiece atop her head, a circlet hung on her upper limb and the fact that he was seeing her dressed in red rather than her usual green, made his stomach feel strange and he suddenly felt very possessive of her. She looked so beautiful with her large green eyes that he felt a little lost on what to say again.

She was still staring at him with a twinge of shock and for some reason he felt relieved that she wasn't acting hostile along with the others.

"Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here," Zuko sputtered with a careless shrug of his shoulders. He tried to gather his wits but it was very difficult with Jin standing right in front of him.

Try as he might, his amber eyes would often fix steadily upon Jin.

Jin suddenly coughed and looked at him defiantly.

"Okay…wait! I think I'm doing this wrong. Let's start all over. Hi, um Avatar. Zuko, here—''

"Yes, we know you're here," Toph impatiently said.

"So um….I guess you guys know who I am. Which sort of reminds…um….hey Jin," Zuko said trying to get some sort of emotion out of Jin. To his surprise, she looked nervous.

"I knew it! I knew it! You_ do_ know each other!" Sokka declared triumphantly.

"You know Zuko?" Katara said sounding a little hurt as she faced Jin.

Jin held her hands up defensively and said, "Wait—this isn't what it looks like and anyway—why are _you _here?"

Jin faced Zuko, her eyes heavy with anger and hurt. She was in an earthbending stance and she looked as downright unwelcoming as everybody else. Only the small, little blind girl retained her apathetic expression.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you….erm…I wanted to tell you something, Jin but I guess it could wait 'cause…I have something more important to tell the Avatar," Zuko said nervously, losing his train of thought. Zuko could see that Jin was starting to blush and her expression had softened. He felt slightly better.

"We don't want to hear you say anything, you big jerk!" Sokka spat.

Zuko's temper flared briefly and he flashed an annoyed glare though he managed to have it under control once again. He said, "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"Not really, since you've followed us all over the world," Sokka said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh. Right... Well, uh... anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and I uh, I'm good now. And, well, I think I should join your group," Zuko said becoming more and more visibly uncomfortable. He looked at Jin and was bereft to discover that she looked disbelieving and slightly angry.

"Oh, and I can teach firebending... to you. See, I uh..." Zuko mumbled as Aang lowered his staff looking confused. Katara stared at him in disbelief.

"You want to what now?" Toph piped up. Zuko stared at her and was relieved to see that at least someone didn't hate him. But that someone was just a twelve-year-old and compared to the fact that she was surrounded by older and taller teenagers, he decided that her weight on the gravity of this situation wouldn't help much.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?" Katara said interrupting Toph. Behind her Jin looked guilty but she maintained her angry expression.

"Yeah, all you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang," Sokka added.

Jin didn't say a word but she was looking at him with pure revulsion and disgust.

"I've done some good things. I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something," Zuko defensively said. As if on cue, Appa suddenly heaved himself up, pushed past Katara, Sokka, Aang and Jin, stopped in front of Zuko and with his great, mighty tongue proceeded to lick him.

"Appa does seem to like him," Toph significantly said as Zuko wiped some of Appa's saliva off.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it," Sokka scoffed.

"And neither am I," Katara huffed. Toph glanced at Jin as if looking for support but Jin merely looked on at the scene wordlessly. Her eyes looked angry so Toph guessed that she didn't really like Zuko either.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past," Zuko remorsefully said.

"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka demanded.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?" Katara demanded.

"Or when you betrayed me and everyone whoever cared about you in Ba Sing Se even when I trusted you?" Jin snapped.

Zuko could barely contain his surprise.

It was the first time that Jin had spoken to him since they encountered and it did not look as if she wanted to work things out with him. The words weighed heavily on him and he felt his remorse rise back up again. Sokka stared at her questioningly as she stared at Zuko with hurt in her eyes but by the expression on her face, he decided against it.

Regaining his voice Zuko said, "Wait—what? No! No—look I didn't mean….if you just give me a chance to explain…."

"We don't want to give you a chance Zuko!" Katara snapped.

"Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should've sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm gonna try to stop him," Zuko said as he hung his head in shame.

"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?" Sokka said angrily as he pointed his boomerang at Zuko.

Zuko paled after realizing his mistake. He cursed himself. He knew he was going to say something wrong at one time or the other.

"Well, that's not his name, but..." Zuko sputtered as he began to panic.

"Oh, _sorry_. I didn't mean to insult your friend," Sokka sarcastically said. From his side, Toph finally assumed an apprehensive stance.

"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Toph accusingly said as she pointed a finger at Zuko.

"And he nearly got Jin killed by crushing her with Ozai's statue!" Katara added.

Zuko looked completely flustered. He was panicking. He said, "_What?_ He wasn't supposed to that! I specifically told him not to hurt Jin—''

Jin's features softened at this comment but Sokka looked livid. He sarcastically said, "Oh, so just because you told the Combustion Man not hurt your_ girlfriend_ makes everything perfectly okay?"

Jin snapped, "I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Whatever," Sokka dismissively said.

"Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me," Zuko said looking at Aang pleadingly. Aang looked down as he pondered what Zuko said.

Aang looked at everyone else. Sokka shook his profusely and so did Katara. Toph merely shrugged at him and mouthed, "Think about it" while Jin simply did not meet his gaze.

"There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us," Aang declared with a sense of finality. Zuko stared at them dumbstruck.

"You need to get out of here, now!" Katara threateningly said.

"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore," Zuko desperately said.

"Either you leave or we'll attack," Sokka snapped.

Zuko closed his eyes, rubbed his temples and said suddenly kneeling down and holding his hands out as he did so, "If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll accept me as your prisoner."

Katara angrily glared at him and hissed, "No we won't!"

Suddenly, she waterbent water out of her satchel and sent a small wave pummeling towards Zuko. It hit him, square in the face and sent him flying backwards causing him to lie facedown. The gasp and the panic that escaped Jin's mouth was very audible as Zuko hit the ground. Sokka stared at her, surprised that she would still care about this jerk. Jin sheepishly looked away.

"Get out of here and don't come back. And if we ever see you again...Well, we'd better not see you again!" Katara declared as Zuko closed his eyes and nodded in defeat. He looked around them pleadingly for one last time, his eyes resting on Jin the longest. Jin stared back at him and for the first time since they saw each other again, Zuko couldn't fathom the expression on her face. It was a mix between anger and….something else. When it was clear that no one wanted him anymore, he turned around and left.

Silence ensued and nobody spoke for the longest of time when Zuko left. Jin in particular, seemed to be deep in thought.

Finally Toph broke the silence saying, "So….you didn't tell me that Zuko's your boyfriend…"

Jin suddenly snapped out of her reverie, "He is not my boyfriend!"

"I can tell you're lying," Toph said in a sing-song voice.

"Ugh!"

And with that, she turned around and stormed off.

* * *

"Why would he try to fool us like that?" Katara ranted as she stomped around the chamber. After the whole ordeal, the group decided to have a meeting convened though Jin did not look as enthusiastic or as livid as everyone else. She continued to drift off distractedly, her hands absentmindedly fiddling with the circlet.

Sokka scowled and said, "Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap."

Katara heatedly continued, "This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother, and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."

"He's not that bad really," Jin said suddenly speaking up.

"Not that bad? _Not that bad?_ He tricked you into dating him so he could destroy the Resistance!"

"That's not how it happened—''

"That's exactly how it happened!" Sokka argued.

"How would you know?"

"Neng told me—''

"Oh, so you believed all those terrible rumors about me like everybody else?" Jin said her voice sounding hurt.

"No! And don't turn this around all on me. What's this business between you and him anyway? Are you two secretly dating or something?"

"Sokka's right. What is going on between you two?" Katara asked.

"What—_no!_ Nothing's going on between us! I don't even like him!"

"Yes, you do! I can see it in your face!"

"No, I don't—''

"Well, you obviously still care about him—''

"I do not—''

"Wel, you cared enough to yell when Katara hit him with a water wave—''

"Well you don't have to worry about me betraying you for him or something—''

"I didn't say that—''

"But you were implying it!"

"Look, why can't you just date someone who isn't an evil jerk who's been trying to kill us for the last few months…like a _Haru?"_

"For the last time, Sokka, I'm not—''

"Hey! I'm just trying to let you see the truth! He wants you to trust him and feel sorry for him, so you let your guard down, _then_ he strikes," Sokka declared as he pummeled his fist against his palm.

Jin looked ready to argue but she looked down and said, "Yeah…you're right. Maybe it's just another ploy so we'll trust him."

"The thing is, it worked. I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt. But obviously when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price," Katara said.

The memories of Ba Sing Se's downfall and Zuko's evident betrayal came rushing back to Jin along with the heat of anger. She said, "Yeah, you guy's are right. We can't trust him."

"I kind of have a confession to make. Remember when you two were sick and I got captured by Zhao?" Aang said, suddenly speaking up.

"And you made us suck on frozen frogs? How could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month!" Sokka cried in outrage as he presented his mouth for everyone to see.

Katara, visibly annoyed, huffed and said, "Sokka, I looked at it and told you there was nothing there."

"I could feel it! It's _my_ throatal flap," Sokka argued.

"You always feel something," Jin scoffed.

Sokka turned to her and said, "But—''

"Anyway, when Zhao had me chained up, it was _Zuko _who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me," Aang interrupted.

"No way, I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself," Katara said as she brought her fist down and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, you're nothing but a prize to him," Sokka said.

"You're probably right," Aang said as he dropped his shoulders.

"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free?" Katara huffed.

"Actually, he wasn't lying," Toph spoke up.

"Oh, hooray. In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list," Sokka said putting a hand on his cheek in true mocking nature.

"I'm just saying that considering his messed-up family, and how he was raised, he could've turned out a lot worse," Toph said looking directly at Jin hoping to play to her sympathies and previous like for Zuko. But Sokka and Katara had already gotten her, red-hot mad and she looked weary of this conversation.

"You're right, Toph, let's go find him and give him a medal. The "not as much of a jerk as you could have been" award," Katara said sarcastically.

"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly," Toph firmly said as she brought up an arm with her palm facing upwards.

"Easy for you to say, you weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates," Katara seethed.

"Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island," Sokka said as he clenched his fists.

"Or when he tried to capture me at the fire temple!" Aang scowled.

"Or when he made me look like a fool in front of all the Resistance members!" Jin snapped.

"Why would you even _try_ to defend him?" Katara heatedly said as she inched towards Toph.

"Because Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact. Aang needs a firebending teacher. We can't think of a _single_ person in the world to do the job. Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?" Toph scowled as she pointed an accusing finger at Katara.

Katara looked remorseful and suddenly remembered the situation they were in. She looked at Aang who merely shook his head and said, "I'm not having Zuko as my teacher."

"Wait—maybe, Toph has a point. We shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet," Sokka said stopping Katara before she could say anything. He turned to look at Jin and said, "How about you Jin? You've dated him—''

"I did not—''

"Say all you want but it won't erase the truth. So anyway, you've dated him right?"

"Ugh—''

"So you must know a little about him. What do you think?" Sokka said.

Jin looked highly irritated. She snapped peevishly before leaving the group, "I think that I already made this mistake _once._ And I don't plan on making it _again_."

* * *

Zuko didn't know what to feel after the encounter with the Avatar and his friends. It didn't turn out too well.

But for some reason he cared more about the fact that Jin absolutely hated him than being unable to convince the Avatar. He had never really understood the gravity of his lies before but now, as Jin displayed a frontier of hurt and resentment, he began to understand slightly and what he understood was not good. He had harmed her and hurt her and he perfectly understood why she was still cautious and apprehensive in dealing with him.

Zuko sighed.

But still, he wished that things had gone on better.

He stiffened as soon as he heard a rustle.

"Who's there? Stay back!" Zuko yelled.

Before Zuko could stop himself, his natural born instincts took over and he immediately firebent a wave of flames towards the intruder. Suddenly a rock pillar rose from the ground and Zuko had to stumble backwards to avoid it.

"It's me!" a small, female voice called out.

"_Ow!"_

Zuko rubbed his eyes and stared, completely appalled, at the scene before him. Toph was sitting on the ground rubbing her burnt feet. And there next to her was….Zuko felt heat rising up his cheeks. It was Jin and she trying desperately to administer all of Toph's wounds. Zuko groaned. He can't believe himself! Now, the Avatar will never take him in!

"You burned my feet!" Toph yelled as Jin gripped her feet.

"Toph! Are you okay?" Jin worriedly said. She looked rattled.

"My feet just got burned! I'm obviously not okay!" Toph retorted.

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake!" Zuko frantically said.

"No…_.you're_ a mistake!" Jin angrily said as she stood up and faced Zuko.

"Jin…it was an accident!" Zuko said trying to desperately explain. Jin crouched to the ground and tried to help Toph up.

"Look, I'm sorry—''

"Get away from her!" Jin yelled angrily, her anger manifesting as a rock column rose and spiraled away once she stamped her foot.

"Let me help you. I'm sorry!" Zuko pleaded as Jin heaved chunks of rocks at him.

"Now,_ I'm_ sorry! I can't believe Toph talked me into coming here! I knew it! I knew it! It was pointless! You're like what you've always been! A liar!" Jin said as she barred her teeth and tried to carry Toph.

"She's too heavy for you! Let me help you!" Zuko said as he tried to run after them. He touched Jin's shoulder and in all the confusion and chaos that ensued with Zuko trying to desperately help and with Jin sending chunks of rocks at him, Zuko suddenly stumbled into Jin, causing her to fall backwards and let go of Toph. Toph rolled over to the side, crying at the pain while Zuko fell on top of Jin.

Jin and Zuko blushed after realizing the position they were in.

"Get off me!" Jin whispered.

Zuko said, "Wait—Jin! I need to tell you something—''

"_Get off me!"_ Jin yelled angrily as she pressed her hands against his chest and shoved him away. She scrambled up and gathered Toph who said, "Hey! Do you think you could be a little more careful with me?"

"Sorry," Jin apologized.

Zuko grabbed her shoulder and said, "Jin wait! I can help!"

"Go away Zuko!" Jin snapped as she shrugged off Zuko's hand.

Jin with her free hand, thrust it outwards and an earth column rose and hit Zuko's chest propelling him backwards. Zuko gave a groan of pain and for a moment Jin looked worried but Toph said, "You think we could go a little faster? My feet are killing me and I can't see a thing!"

Zuko winced and grimaced as he gripped his side trying desperately to say, "I didn't know it was you."

Jin scurried off with Toph into the darkness.

"Come back!" Zuko called out.

When no one answered he clutched his head, bent his knees and rolled to the sides in despair wailing, "Why am I so bad at being good?"

* * *

Everyone was having breakfast and Katara was handing out bowls of rice with wooden spoons to everyone. They were all gathered near the fountain and after the little event yesterday with Zuko turning up, everyone was in a more chipper mood. Katara was still slightly annoyed at him but Sokka, like his true good-natured nature, didn't remember much of it and he was in a considerably better mood. Haru, on the other hand, looked dour.

He had heard that Jin was in a relationship with this Zuko guy and from Sokka's vocal view on things, Jin still liked him. He was planning on showing the clay statue of a monk that he had repaired with earthbending to Jin but he immediately decided that Jin would probably not be as impressed as he wanted her to be. Haru sighed. Impressing a girl like Jin was much more difficult than he imagined.

"Has anyone seen Toph? Jin?" Katara inquired as she passed a bowl to The Duke.

Sokka shrugged and said, "I haven't seen the two of them since they both stormed off yesterday."

"Maybe they're just exploring the air temple. There are some pretty fun spots to practice earthbending," Haru said a little dejectedly at the mention of Jin.

"I think we should go look for them," Katara worriedly said.

"Oh, let them have fun with their rocks. I'm in no rush to have Toph yelling at us again and to have Jin getting all sad and secretive about Zuko," Sokka said dismissively.

"We can go check for them," the Duke suggested.

"Yeah, I want to ride that tunnel down to the hall of statues again. It'll work a lot better now that I fixed my brakes," Teo said as he started to wheel himself away.

Teo pulled his break stick and rolled off, kicking up a cloud of dust. Haru and The Duke followed him shortly saying that they'll help look. Katara nodded and soon she, Sokk and Aang lapsed into a comfortable silence when a loud rumble was heard. They flinched as the ground shook. They turned their heads to see a large cloud of dust. Suddenly the wall crumbled and Jin emerged with Toph in her arms grunting in pain. Everyone scrambled towards them in alarm as Toph prattled Jin, "Can't you go faster?"

"It's not easy earthbending and carrying you at the same time! Did you know that you are so much heavier than you look?" Jin irritably said as trudged towards Aang, Sokka and Katara.

"Hey!" Toph protested.

"Toph, what happened?" Katara asked as Jin set her down, her face red and her breathing short and puffing.

"My feet got burned," Toph said.

"Oh no, what happened?" Katara asked as she examined Toph's feet.

"I just told you, my feet got burned," Toph impatiently said as she rubbed her feet.

"I meant how," Katara corrected.

"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night," Toph said sheepishly.

"You what!" Aang said in shock.

"What?" Katara cried.

"Ugh! And _you_! What were you doing with_ her_? I thought you said you didn't want to make the same mistake!" Sokka said pointing a finger at Jin.

"Jin came with me because she thought that Zuko would be useful with us and that he deserves another chance! We could work something out!" Toph declared.

"What? Jin…I thought we were over this before! Zuko equals pure evil! Do you not get it?" Sokka snapped.

"Hey, I realized that you were right after Zuko burned Toph's feet! He can't be trusted! So you can save me the I-told-you-so!" Jin snapped at Sokka peevishly.

"No, it was an accident, Jin and you saw it! You're just letting your hurt feelings towards Zuko keep you from thinking about this clearly!" Toph argued.

"No…Jin has seen the error of her ways and realized that we were right when we said that Zuko was nothing but big, dumb jerk!" Sokka forcefully said.

"Well, you weren't the one who got burned so how would you know if it wasn't an accident?" Toph demanded.

"Because it's Zuko and what he does is never an accident," Jin bitterly said.

"Wait…can we backtrack? So he attacked you?" Aang said holding a time-out sign.

"Well, he did and he didn't. I already told you, guys! It was sort of an accident," Toph scowled in frustration.

"But he _did_ firebend at you?" Aang clarified.

"Yes," Toph sighed.

"See, you trusted Zuko and you got burned... literally," Sokka said as he snickered. He couldn't help inserting that little joke in. When no one laughed he sighed and looked away muttering, "No one ever appreciates my sense of humor…."

"It's gonna take a while for your feet to get better. I wish I could've worked on them sooner," Katara said as she bent some water out of satchel and waterbent around Toph's feet. When it didn't seem to do any good she water bent the water back into her satchel.

"Yeah, me too," Toph sighed.

"Zuko's clearly too dangerous to be left alone. We're gonna have to go after him," Sokka concluded.

"I didn't want it to come to this. I hate to go looking for a fight, but you're right. After what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice," Jin said in a disappointed manner. She looked sad and thoroughly downtrodden. Katara guessed that she was still hoping that Zuko would miraculously prove himself to be good and she was sad that he did wrong instead.

"He's crafty, but we'll find a way to capture him," Sokka said conspiratorially.

"Maybe just invite him back here. He's already offered himself up as a prisoner once," Toph said as Aang and Sokka hauled Toph up.

"Yeah... get him to come back and say he'll be our prisoner. Then we'll jump him and _really_ make him our prisoner. He'll never suspect it," Sokka said, absolutely enamored with his brilliant plan.

"You are a master of surprise, Sokka," Katara chuckled as Aang and Sokka dropped her off near the fountain where she dipped her feet into them, an expression of relief on her face.

"Ahh, that's the stuff. Now I know how the rest of you guys feel. Not being able to see with your feet stinks," Toph said.

"Not as much as you…do you ever take a bath?" Sokka said as he wrinkled his nose.

Toph held her fist up and said, "Hey watch it! Just because I'm impaired doesn't mean I can't pull a sucker on you!"

* * *

Zuko had to fix things before it's too late. He had to explain things to Jin. He had a small glimmer of hope in his heart. She obviously was still very angry with him but she came with the little blind girl so that must mean that she still had some feelings for him. Zuko sighed, hoping to get things straightened out when his heart stopped as he saw the sight before him. It was the Combustion Man and he was leaning against the ledge, staring at the group intently. Zuko paled. The Combustion man then inhaled as he reared his head back and fired a blast of energy from his head.

It cut through the fountain breaking the group up. He saw Jin get swept off to the side her shoulder hitting a pillar.

"No!" Zuko cried as he swung on a vine.

"Stop! I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore," Zuko cried.

Zuko stood in front of the Combustion Man, his arm spread out, trying vainly to stop him.

"The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop!" Zuko cried but the Combustion Man merely flicked Zuko away and sent another blast towards the top of the fountain.

"If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!" Zuko threatened as he ran towards the Combustion Man again. Combustion Man stopped Zuko in his tracks by grabbing him by the shirt. Zuko threw his fireball, but missed and it hit the wall. Since his previous threat didn't really work Zuko hastily said, "All right, I'll pay you double to stop!"

Zuko swung his arms down, making Combustion Man let go. He turned and executed a short jumping sidekick just as Combustion Man fired another shot, knocking his aim off and knocking Zuko away. Zuko managed to hang unto the ledge and the Combustion Man, after deciding that Zuko seemed to be nothing but a nuisance, turned at Zuko ready to blast him off to the next country with his eye when suddenly a large boulder blocked his path. The Combustion Man's stream of energy shattered the rock sending debris everywhere and before Zuko knew it, Jin was bounding up towards the Combustion Man looking fierce. She earthbent a rock pillar at him, sending him backwards and impairing him for a few seconds.

She held her hand out for Zuko to grab and Zuko took it with disbelief. Jin was helping him. He couldn't believe it. As soon as Zuko was safely on the ledge Jin was suddenly knocked sidewards.

"Jin!" Zuko cried but Jin merely twisted on the floor and sent the Combustion Man against the wall with her earthbending. The Combustion Man looked dazed and Jin hurried towards him, ready to give him a kick.

"Wait! Jin! He's pretty strong—" Zuko started but it was too late. The Combustion Man grabbed Jin's leg in mid-kick and flung her off towards Zuko. She stumbled into him and the next thing Zuko knew she was in his lap. Zuko blushed. How come they were always put in compromising positions?

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked in concern. He found himself gripping her waist protectively.

"I'm fine," Jin curtly said before shoving his grasp off and standing.

"Jin, wait—''

Too late.

A blast hit the ground between them and it sent the ledge crumbling. Jin and Zuko fell but Zuko managed to grab the vine.

"Jin!" Zuko cried as he saw Jin falling steadily away.

Zuko swung the vine in her direction and just before she slipped away from him, he grabbed her by her hips, pulled her close to him.

"Hang on!" Zuko cried.

"I'd rather eat dirt!" Jin viciously said.

"It's a long way down!" Zuko said and he tightened his grip on her hip. Jin scowled and flung her arms and encircled his neck as Zuko pulled her close. They were so close to each other now, only breadth away and as they swung rapidly and Jin looked down, she felt nervous and involuntarily held unto Zuko tighter and pressed her cheek against his.

"Don't worry. I got you," Zuko said.

Jin still found the energy to hate him. She scowled and said, "Whatever."

Suddenly a blast resounded and their vine broke. Luckily they were near a ledge. The two of them barreled through a pillar.

Jin rubbed her head as the two of them stared at the Combustion Man. Suddenly, a small, flying object spiraled through the air, hit his forehead and the next thing Zuko knew an explosion happened. He acted on instinct and he grabbed Jin and shielded her from the debris. Jin resisted but she eventually gave in.

When it was all over, Jin broke free from his grasp and scornfully walked towards Aang, Katara and Sokka and Toph (who was being carried by the two boys) who were coming towards them. Zuko sighed.

Aang looked ashamed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this... but thanks Zuko," Aang said.

"Hey, and what about me? I did the boomerang thing," Sokka protested.

"Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world," Zuko said as he walked towards them. Though to Sokka, it looked as if Zuko was talking more to Jin than to Aang because he was looking at her directly. And whatever he said, much to Sokka's annoyance, seem to have an effect on Jin since she was looking down and a smile was on her face.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you," Zuko said as he bowed at Toph .

His intense amber eyes fixed steadily upon Jin's hazel-green ones and he said, "It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

Jin stared at him blankly.

"I think you _are_ supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love," Aang said.

"Yeah I understand that pretty well. It_ is_ easy to hurt the people you love," Zuko said as he looked at Jin.

Jin rolled her eyes and looked away but she couldn't stop the small smile that played on her lips.

"Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group," Zuko said bowing to Aang.

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's ok with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?" Aang asked looking at Sokka.

"Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.," Toph said after a few seconds of silence.

"Sokka?"

Sokka closed his eyes before sighing and saying, "Hey, all I want is to defeat The Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm all for it."

"Katara?"

Katara stared at Zuko resentfully, and snapped, "I'll go along with whatever _you_ think is right."

"Jin?"

Zuko started to perspire. It was Jin's answer he anticipated the most and it was Jin's answer he was the most worried for. He stared at her as her face became stony and blank. She shrugged and said carelessly, "Sure. Whatever. I guess its okay."

Zuko smiled at her answer and in spite of herself, Jin smiled back.

* * *

Things between Jin and him were obviously not okay. Throughout the whole ordeal with him trying to join the Avatar Jin had either regarded him with either hostility, anger or cool indifference. He knew that she was still hurt and angry at him. Zuko was disappointed because he really wanted to talk things through and work things out. But Jin was till hurt and angry at him. But still, there were small instances that Jin still cared about him and liked him. Like when she came with Toph to try and talk to him. Like the time she gasped when Katara hit him with a water wave. Like the time she pressed her cheek and drew herself to him while they were swinging on the vine. Like the time she saved him. Like the time she smiled back at him.

The moments were small and fleeting but Zuko was sure that they would add up to better times and eventually, even if it would take a decade, eventually Jin would forgive him and all would be well.

The two of them just needed baby steps.

"Hey," a voice said.

Zuko looked up and to his surprise, it was Jin and she was holding a bowl of porridge in her hand. They were eating dinner and despite his new membership in the group, he was still severely excluded and treated like an outcast. Zuko knew that he was not wanted in their little campy dinner so he stalked off into his own corner with the bison not even bothering to get a bowl since Katara, who made the dinner, was behaving in such a hostile manner towards him.

"Hey," Zuko said, completely surprised.

Jin thrust the bowl of porridge towards him and said, "Here. Have some dinner."

Zuko took it and said, "Thanks."

Jin, without another word, spun around to leave but Zuko said, "Wait! Jin! Thanks for saving me…back there."

"I just thought that Aang needed a teacher. I didn't want you to die and leave him without a teacher. It's not like I care about you or anything," Jin said nonchalantly though Zuko could see that a faint trace of a smile was on her lips.

"Oh. Okay. So…um…why'd you bring me dinner? Aren't you afraid that Katara would get mad for you sharing her cooking with me," Zuko asked trying to keeps light.

"I didn't want you to starve," Jin protested.

"I thought you didn't care."

Jin huffed, stared at him contemptuously and said shortly, "I don't."

And without another word, she left.

Zuko smiled to himself.

Yes.

They just needed to take things slowly.

Baby steps were exactly what they needed.

* * *

_WAH! I just gave Zuko and Jin's relationship a do-over! It's back to square one. But anyways, it's more fun that way...so much weirdness, awkwardness and romantic tension is about to ensue for these two (heh hehe evil little me) So…this is the first Zuko/Jin interaction in chapters and there will be more and more to come now that Zuko's in the GAang. I would've wanted things to be immediately fine with them but that seemed a little too weird, considering how hurt Jin was. Finals (yay!) are finally over so I can update a bit faster now (I hope *crosses my fingers*). _

_Thanks to those who read this and added this to their favorites, had it story-alerted and added me as a favorite author! :)_

_Special Thanks to those who reviewed:_

_ArrayePL: Thank you so much! And just to warn you, expect that the timeline may be altered a bit in the future. You're review is just too good!  
_

_SkorpionQueen012: Yeahhh I know. It really sucks for her. But anyway, thanks for the awesome review! Keep being awesome!_

_Alana C. Jones: Oh my, you're always making me spaz with your lovely comments! I can't find the words to describe how much your reviews mean to me either! :D_

_Lunar Calling: Thank you so much! Honestly, you just made my chest swell. _

_tgbwe: Thank you so much! I'm so sorry if I update so slow. I'll try to update faster! Thanks much!_

_Please don't leave me hanging._

_Always R&R._


	19. Part XVIII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XVIII_

Jin has been mostly lukewarm towards him during his stay with the Avatar and his friends—and Zuko was absolutely miserable about it. He wasn't even sure if they should act as if they knew each other because Jin mostly regarded him with cold apathy, slight hatred and a twinge of revulsion and disgust. She did however, show momentary lapses in her steely and cool facade, sometimes initiating acts of kindness and friendliness towards him while the others, save for the little blind girl, showed nothing but pure hostility. But these moments were quick and fleeting, never once staying long enough for Zuko to find the right time to apologize and give his big and all-important "I'm-Sorry" speech. It seemed as if Jin was confused too on whether to act apprehensive towards him or to act normally around him. It seemed as if she wasn't even sure if she should act like she knew him which was a big understatement since Zuko thought that she pretty much knew him as well as even his own uncle.

And Jin seemed to be determined to ignore him and to make sure that they were never alone together, thus hindering any chances of them actually sorting things out and of Zuko giving his "I'm-Sorry" speech. She was very cold and angry and aloof towards him and it was making him very unhappy and slightly annoyed. What was her problem anyway? Zuko angrily thought as he whacked on a tree with his swords. Here he was, humbling himself into humiliation by begging to teach the one person he chased all over the world, being finally good, doing the right thing and she wouldn't even give him five seconds to talk. He just wanted to explain some things especially after the very messy way they left off in Ba Sing Se.

As Zuko somersaulted, twisted and sliced off another branch with his swords, he began to feel angrier and angrier. What was wrong with Jin anyway? Was it too much to ask for a few seconds of her time so he could say something to her? Does she have to act all cheery and happy and peppy in front of everyone but cold and distant towards him? Does she have to constantly pretend as if nothing ever happened between them? It was the first time ever since he met Jin, that he had truly been angry and frustrated with her. He at least thought that she would give him a chance. But in her constant optimistic state of denial, she continued to ignore every single bad thing in her life, like the fact that things went awry between them.

She was so grating that way.

And another thing was that stupid water tribe boy, his stupid sister and that even stupider earth kingdom boy. Sokka, though he had slightly mellowed out, was still regarding him with guarded suspicion and he made very evident the fact that he knew what was really going on between Jin and him and that he heartily disapproved and that Prince Jerkface and his entire smooth jerk-talking skills better be not used on Jin. And furthermore, Sokka warned him that Jin was his best friend (sort of) and if he ever did something to hurt her, Sokka would boomerang him to the next county.

And his sister was so much worse. It seemed that after Katara got the entire details of what Sokka heard about him and Jin, she was determined to make sure that Jin would always view Zuko as an evil, untrustworthy and maligned dingdong. She often advised Jin about matters regarding her and Zuko (even though Jin didn't seem particularly eager in discussing it) and she was resilient in her campaign in proving to Jin that Zuko was a complete waste of her time and that he did not deserve a second chance. And for that, Zuko found himself steadily despising Katara.

And Haru! Zuko had nothing else to say except that the boy was dumb and not at all anything spectacular. He was the sort who thought that he could impress a girl like Jin by just showing off some clay statues he repaired or something. Zuko snorted. How lame. Zuko could do so much better than him. And what was with the beard? Zuko didn't need a dumb beard to—

"Um…what are you doing?"

Zuko snapped out of his heated punches at the tree and turned around and raised his brow in surprise. It was the Avatar and he was looking at the Prince of the Fire Nation with credulousness and amusement.

"I was um….warming up. You know….for our training," Zuko sputtered as he hastily tucked his swords away.

"Oh. Really? 'Cause it looked as if you were trying to destroy the tree," Aang said, looking slightly incensed, being a lover of all living things, as he stared upon the hacked and sawed off tree.

"I wasn't."

"Are you mad or something?"

"I'm not."

"You seem mad."

"I always seem this way," Zuko shortly countered.

"Oh…okay. Is this about—never mind," Aang said as he looked away.

"What? Is this about what?" Zuko demanded.

"Nothing. I think we should start training. Shall we go back to the temple?" Aang asked as he started to look uncomfortable. Zuko eyed him suspiciously but after awhile he nodded and slowly the two of them ventured back to the Air Temple.

Zuko scowled. He wasn't sure if Aang did it purposely or if it was perfectly good coincidence but as soon as Aang chose a courtyard, Zuko paled after realizing that Jin was using that same courtyard as practice grounds.

"A little harder, Smiley! This isn't fairy camp!" Toph chortled from her place. She was now officially Jin's master as well as Aang's and she relished the feeling of being able to boss and to correct people who were a lot older than her. Toph noticed that Jin was a quick study, though her body didn't seem to have the build of a regular Earthbender. Unlike the solid and strong shapes most Earthbenders command, Jin's body was slim and slender, making some of her movements less forceful than it should be. But still, she understood well enough and she was quick to learn the stances and forms.

Jin's brow beaded with sweat as she tried her best to put more force though she was coming up a little short. Zuko watched in complete awe as she lithely moved about with her forms and stances, her movements becoming less fluid and becoming more and more stiff and rigid as Toph barked orders at her to harden. Zuko vaguely wondered how she could know all these since her feet were still burnt and Jin seemed to realize this too because she said as she crouched, "And how would you know that I'm doing it wrong? You can't even _see!"_

"Because I have _ears,_ Smiley!" Toph retorted.

Jin huffed and continued with her drill as Toph barked, "Now get moving! You need to complete the last few forms!"

Jin continued with her drill, her face glistening with sweat and her arms and legs becoming more solid, straighter, and more rigid as she progressed, quietly doing a small twist for the finish. She seemed completely unaware of Aang's presence and as she finished the last form, she sighed and said, "Again?"

Toph remained silent for a few seconds before finally shrugging and saying, "Yeah. Your last few forms were a little weak. Harden it a little bit the next round, you got it Smiley?"

Before Jin could answer Zuko spoke up, "Um….Toph could we us this pagoda? We were kind of hoping to train here."

Jin seemed startled at the fact that Zuko was there and she nearly lost her stance when she realized this. She looked at the two and Aang rubbed his head and sheepishly said, "Oh. Sorry. We could use another pagoda if you want—''

"Oh no! No, it's alright Aang. Me and Toph were just finishing," Jin hastily said as she stood up. She walked towards Toph saying, "We'll go to one of the deeper antechambers—''

"Hey, wait a minute, Smiley. I didn't say we could leave," Toph said grabbing Jin's hand before she could leave.

"Oh. But Aang needs to train here," Jin said, carefully failing to mention Zuko's name.

"But you need to train too," Toph pointed out.

"But we could do it in another pagoda—''

"But I want _this _pagoda."

"What's so special about this pagoda?"

"Because I _want_ this pagoda."

"What makes it different from the others?"

"Because I _want _this pagoda."

"Well, you can have this pagoda by yourself," Jin peevishly said, losing her patience. She was about to stomp away when Toph grabbed her arm.

"And _no_, you can't leave. Who's going to carry me around, huh? And besides last time I checked, I'm still your _Sifu_," Toph chattered fixing an impish smirk on Jin. Zuko started to feel uncomfortable. Toph and Aang shot a conspiratorial glance at each other and Aang gave Toph a very prevalent wink. The two had obviously planned this. Zuko scowled and it seemed as if Jin had finally caught up with what was going on because her previous confused and awkward expression melded into one of anger before slowly changing back into on her unconcerned looks, the only she always manages to give Zuko.

Her voice became visibly harder as she said, "I can't do the drill properly when they're training here."

"Oh,_ please_. It's going to….I don't know….foster stronger levels of concentration," Toph drawled in a careless tone.

Jin seemed extremely annoyed but she could hardly go against Toph, seeing that Toph was her master. Jin in heated steps, went back to the first stance and started to do the drill while Zuko tried to regain his focus. He cleared his throat, crossed his arms, looked at Aang and said, "I know you're nervous, but remember… firebending in and of itself is _not_ something to fear."

"Ok. Not something to fear," Aang hesitantly said. He still looked tremendously unsure.

Beside them, Jin's movements seem to slice through the air and Zuko always found himself staring back at her. When their eyes met, she shot him a resentful glare and that hit a nerve in Zuko's body. What gave her the right to act that way towards him? He wasn't even doing anything wrong! He was just helping Aang out! Zuko lost his temper and he unknowingly said in a loud voice, "But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!"

Jin snorted loudly at this comment. Zuko nearly lost his cool. He said, "What?"

Jin shrugged and said, "Nothing."

Toph and Aang looked at each other and snickered. They shared a very knowing glance, as if they had some sort of scheme up their sleeve. Zuko began to feel nervous. What were those two planning?

"Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make," Zuko ordered trying his best to ignore Jin who was just finishing her drill.

Before Aang could say anything, Toph barked, "Again! Harder, this time!"

Jin silently nodded and returned to the first stance without further debate.

Aang exhaled, took in a nervous breath and attempted to firebend. His palm released a waft of smoke before dissipating in a second. He dropped his shoulders and stared miserably at his failed product as Zuko watched him with a critical eye. He lowered his head and said sheepishly, "Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration ."

Aang noticed that Zuko wasn't really paying attention to him. Instead he was staring at Jin from the corner of his eye. Aang smirked and he caught Toph smirking too. He suddenly had an idea.

"Zuko! Zuko! _Zuko!"_

"_What?"_

"I said I needed a demonstration," Aang repeated.

Zuko's eyes suddenly flashed as if he had gotten an idea. Of course! A demonstration! He suddenly had the insatiable thirst for Jin to see what he was really capable of with his firebending. It suddenly occurred to him, that she had never seen him in full Firebending mode and he suddenly wanted to impress her. He wasn't quite sure if it would only cause some negative reaction, but he was desperate to at least do something that would impress her or make any sort of impact on her. Or do something that would make her notice him and actually acknowledge him because the cold shoulder and silent treatment were driving him insane.

Zuko stood up straight, puffed his chest up a little bit in pride and said in a slightly confident tone, "Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back."

Zuko gestured for Aang to move back and Aang obligingly did so. Zuko then turned to Jin who was embedded in a crouching stance and he said a little nervously, "Maybe you should step back a little too….so you know….no one gets hurt…."

Jin snorted derisively and said hardly, "I can take care of myself."

Zuko frowned at her and snapped, "Look! I'm only concerned for your well-being!"

"Really? Because after burning Ba Sing Se down you aren't exactly giving me that impression," Jin said in a cold tone as she heaved her weight upwards and formed a very formidable and _very angry_ stance.

"You know, if you had just given me a chance to explain—''

"Um…Zuko? My demonstration?" Aang piped up, eagerly wanting to break up the rising fight between them.

Zuko looked reluctant to let it go but he nodded and began his first stance. Zuko took a deep breath, grunted and proceeded to firebend. He pushed his palms outwards only to produce a pathetic looking flame. Jin suddenly snickered and as she gave a high kick as she chortled, "That's why you wanted me to step back?"

Zuko scowled and said, "What was that! That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!"

He began to pace around in panic, wringing his arms as he did so.

"I thought it was….nice," Aang shrugged.

Zuko grunted and began to rapidly firebend but to his frustration he could not produce the amount and power of flames he needed. They were getting weaker and weaker with every succeeding move.

"It isn't supposed to be like this!" Zuko angrily said.

"Give it all you got, Zuko! Maybe you're just a little nervous," Aang offered.

"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?" Zuko snapped.

"Um, maybe it has something to do—''

"Look! I don't expect someone like you to understand! Just stand back and let me do my thing!" Zuko snapped as he stepped back and began his first stance.

"Zuko….what are you planning to do?" Aang asked worriedly. Zuko had a gruff look in his eye.

"I'm going to try to complete a drill. Now stop talking! I can't concentrate!" Zuko said and in an instant he began a series of moves, kicks and spins. As Aang watched on, with his eyes wandering to Jin once in awhile, he realized that it looked as if they were dancing with Jin performing her strong and rigid earthbending drill and with Zuko doing his heated firebending drill. They moved past each other, always within reach but never getting themselves in each other's way. In a way, they looked like so graceful.

Aang suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Nothing thrilled him more than matchmaking or doing mischief in other people's business. And no one was easier to mess with than Zuko, who was so easy to rile up. Apparently Toph thought so too because as Aang swiftly grabbed his glider, poked Toph and whispered, "Wanna give them a little help?" she gave a silent chuckle before nodding.

As Zuko started to transcend into a different stance, Aang airbent a gust of air from his behind at the same time that Toph earthbent a small pillar from the back of Jin's heel causing the two to falter in their stances and to land on top of each other.

Jin looked a little confused and she murmured, "What the—''

"Hey are you okay?" Zuko asked immediately worried that Jin was hurt.

Jin suddenly frowned at him and snapped, "Ugh! I'm fine."

"I was only asking," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I think that you hardly care about me anyway. And what were you doing in my way—''

"I'm in your way? You're the one who bumped into me—''

"Well something hit my foot—''

"Something knocked me from behind—''

"_Wait—''_

"_Wait—''_

"_Toph—''_

"_Aang—''_

"What?" Toph and Aang said in unison with an air of innocence.

Jin got off from Zuko's chest and pointed an accusing finger a Toph saying, "That was completely uncalled for!"

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about!" Toph said with an air of false sweetness.

"You….you….you…"

"What's the matter Smiley? Me and Twinkletoes were only trying to help out," Toph said as she wrinkled her nose and looked away.

"Help…._.out_?" Jin said sounding confused.

"Oh come on! We all_ really _know what's going on between you and Sparky!" Toph snickered.

Jin opened her mouth ready to say something but she quickly decided against it, preferring to turn around in an angry huff and yell, "Ugh! You guys are so immature!"

* * *

Zuko scowled as he leaned against a wall and watched Appa lie leisurely about near the fountain. He felt ridiculous and stupid and miserable. He lost his firebending, Jin wouldn't talk to him, that stupid water tribe boy was annoying him even more than usual…..All in all the day summed to nothing but disappointment and embarrassment. He couldn't even impress Jin with his firebending because there was no firebending for him to impress her with. And to top it all off, he was still an outcast. No one wanted him around the campfire or around dinner. Everyone still regarded him with suspicion. He was probably just going to starve to death.

From the corner of his eye, he stared at Jin as she laughed brightly along with everybody else at a joke Sokka was telling them.

She looked so much different. Her eyes, showed a deeper, darker, more miserable undercurrent beneath them and he suddenly realized that gone was the carefree girl he had met in Ba Sing Se. And in her place was someone who had been broken and beaten by the war, someone who was trying to keep up an optimistic front despite the ravaging destruction of fire that threatens to envelop around her.

And it was all his fault.

Jin had every right to be angry with him.

But does she have to be so angry that she refused to even talk with him?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the silent and unassuming pitter-patter of footsteps. Zuko suddenly became aware that someone was approaching him. He whirled around, ready to attack, thinking that it was someone trying to subdue or kill him, but it was only Jin, an apathetic look on her face with a bowl of soup in her hands. Zuko felt ridiculously embarrassed as he stared out at Jin, his arms raised and ready to attack.

Jin silently regarded him with a cool stare, her eyes a little softer and holding more warmth than it had ever had in days.

"Dinner," she said in a semi-cold, semi-friendly voice.

Zuko grabbed the bowl, peered at its contents and said rather stupidly, "Um….what's this for?"

"It's for eating….you _idiot._ What else is it for?" Jin said sounding slightly amused by Zuko's suspicious reaction. After a few minutes of awkward silence she drawled in a careless tone, "I wasn't sure if you if you ate yet, so I brought you a bowl. Come on. We're not the bad guys we're the _good _guys. We don't let people starve. And don't' worry—that's not poisoned."

Zuko looked up and was mildly surprised to find that she had not left yet. Usually, she refused to be alone with him. It seemed to him that she thought it was the most revolting thing possible right now.

The two of them stared at each other, the unsaid anger and the hurt pulsating through the atmosphere threatening to swallow them whole. Zuko looked at Jin and saw that she was looking at him with an open but guarded stare and he suddenly understood that this might be his only chance to apologize to her, to make things up to her, to clear things out with her because she was the most unguarded and approachable she has ever been since he first saw her again. It was as if she was giving him a chance to explain himself.

Zuko felt as if they were such at a great distance from each other despite being only a few meters apart, the empty void of unsaid hurt, disappointment and anger expanding and expanding until Zuko could no longer do anything but watch as the two of them slipped away from each other. He wanted to stop this from happening. He wanted to fill the void.

For a second, it seemed as if Jin would let him.

Zuko began, "Jin, I'm—''

She cut him off and said in quiet and strangely distant voice, "There's something wrong with your bending. You should tell the others about it."

And with that she silently padded away, leaving a very annoyed and confused Zuko.

* * *

"We've been riding for hours. I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster," Zuko said as he leaned back and watched Aang's profile grip the reigns tightly. He was still in a sour mood after the way things went down with his conversation with Jin. He huffed and stared off into the distance as Appa steadily flew across grassy fields. After his completely awful conversation with Jin, he informed the others about his lost bending abilities. Eventually, after many discussions and side-tracking, everyone decided that it would be a great idea to learn firebending from the original source. He had Toph to thank for that, with all her spouting out about badger-moles. So on the next day, he and Aang were now on a mission to the ancient sun warriors' old settlement to learn more about firebending and perhaps get some of Zuko's old skill back.

"Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude," Aang said as Appa gave a mighty roar.

Zuko sighed and said as he rested his head on the saddle, "I can't believe this."

Aang shrugged and said, "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it."

The two of them continued to journey in awkward silence with Zuko twiddling his thumbs trying to desperately to think of topics which would induce a decent and amiable conversation while Aang was trying to figure out interesting ways to get Zuko to be more upbeat. It was funny how people like Zuko and Jin could attract. Jin was upbeat and optimistic while Zuko was pessimistic and always saw the worst in every situation. Barely anything could faze Jin's patience and temperance while Zuko was so easy to annoy and to rile up. Jin was carefree and fun-loving; Zuko took things to varying degrees of seriousness. It was amazing how two people who were so different, who were such polar opposites in ideals and personalities, could actually be together.

Aang decided that he should try at another attempt at cheering Zuko up. Aang said, "So…feeling cheerful yet?"

"No," Zuko bluntly replied. He was staring off into the distance with a listless expression as he picked at Appa's saddle. The silence ensued and Aang was left feeling very awkward. What was he supposed to say to Zuko anyways?

"So….how's it going?" Aang asked after awhile.

"Nothing much."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So nothing's bothering you?"

"No."

"Really, 'cause it seems like something's bothering you," Aang said.

"Ugh! What's with all these pointless questions!" Zuko exploded losing patience and temper.

Aang cringed but being the calm pacifist he was, he merely shrugged and said, "Well, we've got a half-a-day before we arrive at the Sun Warriors' dwellings so we have to talk about _something."_

Zuko gave an audible, "Humph" and looked away muttering and mumbling under his breath.

"So what's got your beef?" Aang ventured once again.

"Nothing's got my beef. And would you give it a rest?" Zuko snapped.

"No, I won't. And something's obviously got your beef—''

"Well, they can have it."

"Zuko—''

"Look can you keep your eyes up front! I don't want you to meet an accident or something—''

"And what are we going to crash into? The clouds—''

"Ugh! You are so infuriating—''

"Is it Jin?"

"_What?"_

"Is what's bothering you about Jin?" Aang asked in a completely calm and serene voice while Zuko started to shake and quake in complete anger.

"No!"

"Well I think that it's about Jin—''

"That's none of your business—''

"Because if it's about Jin, I'm sorry for messing around with you guys back when we were training," Aang apologized in a sincere tone.

"This is not about—''

"I just thought that you guys needed to loosen up with each other—''

"Would you give it a rest!" Zuko said before completely ignoring Aang. The thick and uncomfortable silence that hung in the air continued to pervade punctuated by Zuko's angry mutterings and scowls and Aang's clumsy attempts at trying to start a conversation.

Finally, just as when Aang was about ready to give up, Zuko suddenly said, "Does she…does she ever talk about me?"

"Huh?" Aang said as he squinted his eyes at Zuko.

"Jin. I mean, does she….mention me or talk about me or something?" Zuko demanded sounding slightly impatient.

"Well….."Aang mused.

Zuko looked at Aang expectantly.

"No. Not really."

Zuko scowled and looked away.

"But I know that she still thinks about you. I mean whenever Sokka makes fun of you, she looks kind of offended and she never joins in when we make fun of you or insult you," Aang said in a re-assuring voice.

"_Wait!_ You make fun of me?" Zuko demanded in a flummoxed tone.

"Well…back in the…heh…._good old days_….but that's really not the point. You don't have to worry about anything. She'll come around eventually. I'll bet she's just really confused on how she's supposed to feel about you," Aang re-assured.

Zuko snorted and said, "Don't worry. It's pretty obvious about the way she feels about me. She _hates _me."

Aang gave a hearty laugh and said, "No, she doesn't—''

"Well if she isn't, how come she never gives me a chance to apologize to her? How come she often acts like I don't exist? I mean….one minute she's nice to me and the next she hates me! It doesn't make sense!" Zuko said sounding more and more frustrated with each and every word.

"Well….you did burn down Ba Sing Se—''

"But if she'd just give me a chance to explain—''

"And you also betrayed her, not to mention you tried to kill us all again by sending the Combustion Man—''

"I never meant for him to hurt her and that's not his name—''

"All I'm saying is, that's a lot to swallow and even harder to ignore. It's just that….she's trying hard to forget about the bad things you've done Zuko but she can't. Not yet," Aang said.

"Well…if she would just talk to me, I'm pretty sure that we could sort things out," Zuko huffed.

"Well….she likes to avoid bad stuff and this thing you two have going on…it's pretty _bad_. I mean, really, really bad. Just give her some time, Zuko. She's probably just trying to figure out how to see you in a good light again," Aang said as Zuko gawked at him with utter surprise.

After a few minutes of silence, Aang said, "I think we're here."

Zuko merely smiled at him and said, "You know what? I think you're a pretty smart kid."

* * *

"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there," Sokka drawled as soon as Aang and Zuko finished performing in front of everybody else. Zuko returned to camp with much higher spirits, and he was more than eager to share his new discoveries to the group, even if they weren't exactly as enthusiastic. Jin watched him and Aang with a measured glance while he performed while Katara looked at him with pure loathing. Sokka, always in his humorous disposition, provided a mocking commentary while Toph looked uninterested and that stupid earth kingdom boy, Haru, watched him with a critical glare. Zuko sniffed. As if that scared him. He's seen worse.

"It's not a dance. It's a firebending form," Zuko defensively insisted.

"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," Sokka sarcastically said as he made mocking dancing motions.

Zuko ground his teeth, stomped towards Sokka and snapped, "It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"

"Oh yeah? What's your _little_ form called ?" Katara demanded.

Zuko bristled and after awhile, he mumbled in an embarrassed tone, "The Dancing Dragon."

Everyone laughed and Zuko tried to keep his temper.

"Fine! But just know that you've insulted a very _important and ancient_ tradition performed by the original sources of firebending!" Zuko snapped peevishly ready to storm off into his room as usual.

Before he could do so Jin suddenly spoke up, "Hey quit it, guys. Zuko's right. We shouldn't insult ancient culture."

Zuko stared at her in disbelief as did everyone else in the circle.

Jin shrugged and said, "What? I just think it's kinda…cool."

One minute she was giving him the cold shoulder and staring at him with hateful eyes and the next she's standing up for him and being nice and friendly. Zuko stared at her, expecting her to be amiable and friendly but her face had closed down into a cold and apathetic expression once again.

Zuko huffed and stormed off.

He could never understand what was up with Jin.

Girls were crazy.

* * *

The days wore on in simple idle and bliss. Aang practice waterbending, early in the morning where the sun was gray and cool and a fine mist clouded in the air. He would then take a short break devoted to carefree fun and leisure before being promptly herded away into Firebending training by Zuko. Zuko insisted that they train at noon towards early afternoon, when the sun was at its peak and strongest. He wanted Aang to feel the coursing power of the sun through his veins and he wanted to make sure that he would be able to firebend at the best possible level. The late afternoons, when the sun started to sink, would be allotted to Toph, who showed no mercy with her charge. Toph drilled Aang harder than she had ever before; the two often practiced late into the evening or at least until Katara yells at Toph that enough is enough.

Zuko, though not as excluded anymore, still felt uncomfortable among his new found companions and he was much more at home sitting at a far corner with Appa and Momo as company. It never bothered him too much mostly because it gave him an excuse to try to squeeze his apology speech to Jin. Jin, who often felt sorry for him, made it the subconscious habit of bringing him his dinner. They barely spoke and their exchanges were curt but Zuko decided that it was better than nothing and he might as well follow the Avatar's advice of giving her time.

Katara wasn't warming up to him in the least bit and that suited Zuko just fine. She was a naggy busybody who interfered with everyone's business and he didn't care whether she liked him or not.

The same goes for that insipid water tribe boy. He was so infuriating with his mocking comments and completely unnecessary sarcasm. And the little blind girl was no different. She was as mischievous as a kitten-fox and he was growing weary of hers and the Duke's antics.

During the first three days in his stay with this quirky little group, four memorable events happened, not all of them good.

* * *

The first was with the Avatar.

Zuko had once again dragged him away from playing earth soccer with Toph and Haru, and he was now giving a very important lecture on the importance of breathing in every Firebender. It took him about twenty seconds to realize that the Avatar wasn't completely paying attention to him. Instead, he was toying with something under his sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.

"Sifu Hotman—''

"Don't call me that!"

"I'm bored."

"Well, this is a Firebending basic. So you can't be bored," Zuko shortly said.

The Avatar suddenly shot up, wind flapping at his behind as he said, "I have a great idea on how we could improve our breathing!"

"Um…"

"There's a windfall tunnel in this temple!" Aang eagerly said.

"A what?"

"A windfall tunnel! You know, a tunnel with a steep incline….a tunnel that goes downwards! We used to use it as training grounds for our flying!" Aang enthusiastically said as he began to bound up and down in exaggerated steps, caused by the little spurts of wind he was making.

"And how is that supposed to help with your breathing?" Zuko demanded as he bounded after Aang.

"The air pressure is really great down there. Boy, would our breathing be challenged!" Aang piped up and before Zuko could do anything about it, he found himself peering over the edge of a windfall tunnel feeling more nervous than he should be.

"Aang….how are we getting down there?"

"Don't worry! I brought re-enforcements!" Aang enthusiastically said and before Zuko could say anything else Toph and Jin suddenly came into view with Toph having the same mischievous expression she always sported and with Jin looking slightly annoyed.

Zuko then realized that this was another ridiculous scheme.

"Um….what are we supposed to be doing here?" Jin asked Toph.

Toph shrugged and said, "You're getting a lesson on breathing, Smiley—''

Jin argued, "What? But Earthbending isn't even rooted in breathing. It's rooted in patience and strength and power—''

"Blah blah blah. Now who's your master again? Oh, that's right. _Me. _So anyways, Twinkletoes and Sparky need some help and it's a good opportunity to practice earthbending from a distance. You ready?" Toph said as she forcefully pushed Jin forward.

Jin didn't look amused but she agreed nonetheless.

"I'm going first. Then you next, Smiley. When we both reach the bottom, we both earthbend pockets or carts for Sparky and Twinkletoes, okay?" Toph said as she went forward and earthbent a small, rock cart at the edge of the tunnel.

And without further ado, she leaped on the cart and began to spiral downwards yelling, "Give my love to the Badger-moooolllees….."

Jin was next and Zuko silently made way for her as she earthbent a cart and followed Toph's example. She didn't look nervous though she did look apprehensive. After a few minutes, she hopped on the cart and began to careen downwards. Zuko waited for anything, any noise, any indication that the two had reached the bottom. Finally after hearing a thud, another cart suddenly rose from the edge.

"Sweet! Now that's earthbending at a distance! Did you see that Smiley?"

Zuko could hear the faint echo of Toph's triumphant voice.

"Um…"

"I'll go first. Meet you at the bottom, Sifu Hotman. And be sure to keep your breath," Aang said as he eagerly hopped on the cart.

"Aang, this isn't such a good idea—''

But before he could finish, the Avatar had already shot downwards giving an excited yell. After a few seconds, Zuko heard a thud and the audible voice of Toph rang, "Nice drop Tiwnkletoes! Hey, Sparky you're up next! Smiley try earthbending a cart for him!"

"I can't! It's too far off!" Jin's voice rang through the hallway.

"Don't give me that! What kind of person did I teach anyway? Chicken liver?" Toph drawled loudly.

Zuko leaned over the edge and called out, "It's okay. I could just stay here and—''

Suddenly a cart rose, propelling him backwards. Zuko groaned and examined it and saw that it was slightly rough and shaky.

"Toph….maybe this isn't such a good idea. I don't think I made it stable enough," he heard Jin frown.

"Get in Sparky!" Toph yelled, completely ignoring Jin. Zuko reluctantly got in and just as he expected, nothing good came out of this little excursion. The cart Jin made was indeed a little shaky and careened downwards in a shaky fashion. At the last few meters, Zuko's cart jolted and he was thrown off it, as he pummeled towards the wall.

Cursing and muttering under his breath, he scowled as everyone laughed. That's it! He was through with these ridiculous games! He was going to march Aang back up there and continue his lecture on breathing—

"I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?" Jin asked in between giggles.

Zuko stared at her in surprise as she held a hand out.

"Well?" Jin impatiently said.

"Oh…ugh thanks…," Zuko mumbled as he grasped it and steadied himself back up.

"I'm sorry about the cart," Jin said in an apathetic voice though her lips were curved in a smile.

"It's okay and uh….thanks," Zuko smiled staring at her sheepishly.

From behind them, Aang and Toph high-fived and snickered conspiratorially.

* * *

The second was with the Water Tribe Boy, the Duke, Teo, Haru and the little blind girl.

"Zuko! Hide me!" Sokka suddenly said, bursting into his room. Zuko, completely startled shot up and stared at the Water Tribe Boy as he ambled towards him, looking panicked and stricken.

"What's wrong? Is the Fire Nation is here?" Zuko said sounding a little groggy but his voice slowly gaining the sharpness of being alert.

"No! But Jin and the Duke are after me! And Teo and Toph! I'm dead! And possibly Katara too!" Sokka frantically said as he tried to find a suitable hiding place. He finally found one near a withered and nasty potted plant, and much to Sokka's disgust, he had to bear with it.

"Why?"

"Because I took the money back."

"What?"

"Honestly, you are so stupid sometimes! _The money_! I took the money Jin and Duke won and Toph and Teo from our Four Kingdoms game!" Sokka hissed.

Zuko's eyes flashed in realization. Sokka and the rest were playing the gambling card game, Four Kingdoms, and for all of Sokka's apparent skills of deduction, he had forgotten that Jin and Toph were two very sneaky players. Jin won most of his money while Toph won half. Jin decided to share some with Duke, who was her tag-along teammate while Toph had to give some to Teo who helped her in the last round. Zuko was invited but he declined since he really wasn't into gambling games. Haru didn't win any and Zuko was quite smug about that.

"I don't recall Katara playing with you," Zuko frowned.

"No…but she specifically told me not to let…children…you know Duke and Teo….play and—''

The door suddenly burst open and the roaring voice of Toph echoed, "Where is he? Where is_ he_?"

"Where's who?" Zuko said as he whirled around and pushed the potted plant backward pressing Sokka close to the wall.

"Sokka! I know you know where he is Sparky!"

"Sokka? Nope. Haven't seen him. Try his room," Zuko nervously chortled.

"He isn't in there. Oooh, when I get my hands on that scumbag—''

"What exactly did he do?" Zuko asked cautiously.

Teo suddenly wheeled himself in and snapped, "He stole our money!"

"Huh?"

"From our Four Kingdoms game!" Teo impatiently explained.

"Listen, here Sparky!" Toph suddenly shrieked pointing a finger at Zuko.

Zuko stared at her blankly.

"If I find out you've been keeping something from me….you're _dead_!" Toph snapped, swiftly moving her pointer finger across her neck, signaling dead meat. And with that she and Teo stormed off.

"Turn yourself in, right now!" Zuko hissed as soon as they were gone.

"What? Are you crazy? Did you just see how mad they were?" Sokka chattered.

"Why did you have to steal the money back?" Zuko snapped.

"Because it was our grocery money—''

The door suddenly flew open and in strode a very annoyed Katara, her eyes rimmed with dark circles, her hair flying everywhere, making her look downright scary. She snapped at Zuko, "Have you seen my brother?"

Zuko nervously eyed Sokka who rapidly shook his head. Zuko mumbled, "Um….no?"

"Well…if you….if you do….you better tell me because he…is…so…_dead!"_ Katara hollered.

"Um…."

"Did you know that he let the Duke and Teo play a gambling game?_ Did you?_ How unethical and immoral! Teaching gambling to people at that _age!_" Katara ranted.

"But um…Toph played," Zuko offered trying to calm Katara down.

"Toph is no child! And did you know he just gambled all of the grocery money away! All of _my _money away!" Katara ranted.

"Um…no?"

"Ugh! Boys!" Katara shrieked as she whirled around and left.

"I'm not going to let you drag me down with you!" Zuko whispered as soon as Katara left.

"Well, I'm not going down_ in general!_" Sokka shot back.

"Just turn yourself in—''

"No—''

"Stop being a coward—''

"Stop being a jerk—''

"Zuko?" a soft voice said. Zuko whirled around and found Jin looking weary and tired with the Duke trudging at her side.

"Um…hey Jin…."

"Where's Sokka?" the Duke cried.

"I don't really know—''

"So you don't know where he is?" Jin shortly said.

"No, but I have to tell you something—''

"Come on Duke. We won't find anything here," Jin quietly said as she led the Duke away.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's _the _Duke!" the Duke piped up as they left.

Zuko barely had time to react at Jin's very prevalent snub and coolness. Suddenly a hand clamped on his shoulder and he heard Sokka's voice say for once without any hint of sarcasm "Thanks, man. I owe you one. And oh—about her? She'll come around eventually. Don't worry too much. But until then_, stay away from her. _She needs space."

Zuko simply scowled as the Water Tribe boy scrambled away to find another hiding place.

* * *

The third was with Katara and it wasn't a very pleasant one.

Zuko didn't want to elaborate much except that in his unfortunate haste in things, he knocked over the soup bowl, sparked Katara's wrath and induced her to waterbend him into a pillar.

"You….are such a jerk! Now look! I have to do it all over again!" Katara yelled as she began to mutter around in anger at how she was now going to prepare the soup all over again. Toph snickered from her place while Aang shot him a sympathetic stare. Sokka gave him a look that said "suck it in" while Haru and the rest remained entirely indifferent. He didn't want to catch Jin's expression. He was too annoyed and frustrated and embarrassed.

As he stood up to wash some of the water away from his face, someone suddenly thrust him a towel. He looked up and saw that it was Jin and he felt only more embarrassed.

"Wipe your face. We're about to have dinner," Jin said in a hard and unfriendly voice that was totally mismatched with her friendly gesture.

See?

Things like that make him confused on whether Jin was still angry with him or whether they were on the road to reconciliation.

* * *

The fourth and final memorable experience was with Jin and Zuko did not like to be reminded of it that much.

Toph, having trained Jin masterfully, was delegating Sifu duties to her more and more in favor for going around the town with Sokka. Katara heartily disapproved and Jin wasn't too eager as she was worried that she might not be experienced enough to teach the Avatar. Toph merely shrugged and dismissively said that it was hardly a matter to fuss about. Jin was perfectly capable of training with Aang since she mastered at least three more scrolls ahead of him.

In a way, it was all Toph's fault why it happened in the first place.

Before Aang proceeded to his earthbending training, Zuko and Toph often trained Aang by fighting him with their combined firebending and earthbending skills. These fights lasted only for fifteen minutes since Toph would get bored and Zuko would get impatient. They often had a perfectly decent time since Toph was very nice (in her own way) towards Zuko and so far they had done this without much difficulty and qualms for the past two days. That was until, Toph decided that she wanted to go see the circus with Sokka and Teo and she had once again left training duties to Jin.

Things started well enough. Jin and Zuko made their stances, the two of them staring at each other with apathetic looks while Aang stood in the middle. Zuko made the first move and together they progressed into a fight with Aang fending off their attacks.

Things however, started to grow heated and Aang started to notice that Jin and Zuko's attacks were directed more at each other than him.

"Um guys…" Aang nervously began.

Suddenly a fireball hurtled past him, sailed through his head and nearly hit Jin's side.

"I'm sorry!" Zuko quickly said, though he sounded slightly angry.

"No problem," Jin said through gritted teeth and suddenly a rock pillar rose and snagged Zuko's ankle causing him to fall down.

"Oops. I'm sorry," Jin hissed sounding not sorry at all.

"No problem!" Zuko snapped back and before Aang could do anything, a wave of fire sliced through the air and nearly hit Jin. Jin barely dodged it and she angrily earthbent an earth wall and sent it straight to Zuko.

"Um…Zuko? Jin? You guys are supposed to be fighting _me_…" Aang said as soon as the focus was not on him now.

Suddenly an earth column hit Zukos' side. He gave a startled gasp before rolling back up and shooting a jet of flame towards Jin that she narrowly missed. He hissed, "What's up with you anyway? It was only an accident."

"Just like burning Ba Sing Se down was an accident…." Jin hissed as she whirled around and sent an earth ball at him. Zuko surprised her by crushing it to a million pieces, simply by just punching it.

"You know I never meant for that to happen! If you'd just give me a chance to explain!" Zuko roared as he firebent a fire whip.

"There is nothing to explain!" Jin snapped as she dodged Zuko's fire whip.

"_Yes, there is!_ And you are just too stubborn, too close-minded to give me a chance!"

"And you're just trying to avoid the fact you've done something _wrong!"_ Jin yelled back.

_"I know I was wrong okay?_ I know I was wrong and I know I hurt you! But you can't keep ignoring all the bad things in the world Jin! Because if you do it's going to pile up on you!"

"I'm not ignoring anything!" Jin snapped.

"Yes you are! You obviously still like me and you're ignoring and putting off talking with me because you hate confrontation!"

"Shut up, Zuko!"

"I just wanted to explain some things to you! I wanted to apologize! Why is it so hard for you to give me a chance?" Zuko cried, his voice losing its stability and calm. Jin angrily punched the ground and it sent a small tremor down his way.

"How dare you turn this all on me? Don't you dare make this my fault! You are such an evil person, Zuko! Did you know how many lives were taken by the invasion in Ba Sing Se? Do you? _Do you? _Hundreds and hundreds, all innocent most of them mothers and children all for the stupid glory of the fire Nation! All for your stupid _honor!_" Jin roared as she earthbent a huge pillar towards him, her face looking fierce and angry.

By then everyone had gathered around them, including Toph , Teo and Sokka who had come back from their trip. Sokka nervously said, "Hey guys….no need for your lover's quarrel to be this serious…."

In a quavering voice she yelled as she sent it towards Zuko, "You know what Zuko? You would have been better off dead!"

"Really?" Zuko hissed, the anger and the hurt melding into one common entity.

"Because…because being dead is better than being the evil person that you are!" Jin said finally regain her voice.

There was a strange and queer silence that followed.

Finally Zuko found his voice. He roared, "_AND I KNOW THAT!"_

Jin jumped backwards at his outburst, a little startled at the tone and degree of his voice. After a few minutes of strange silence, Sokka said, 'Um, guys, the two of you need to calm down—''

"No you don't know! _You don't know Zuko!_ Do you have any idea what you put me through?" Jin demanded, her voice fighting for control. It started to quaver. She cried, "I thought that you were different Zuko! I thought that you were a kind, sweet, caring boy! You made me….you made me like you…._so much_…only to go and turn around and stab me in the back and cut every single thing that I hold dear and care about! You took away Ba Sing Se, my only source of peace and comfort! My brothers, my only family in this stupid, messed-up world! And you took away my heart and just went out there….and…and smashed it all for your stupid honor and glory and you know what? I hate you for it! I take back what I said back in the tunnel! I hate you Zuko! For lying to me, for destroying hope! You destroyed Ba Sing Se, the Avatar, my brothers and they were the only sources of hope for me! You know how much I needed it at a time like this!"

And her eyes started to rim with tears though she was fighting for control. Jin bit her lip. She refused to weep for him. What Jin had said had struck a chord in Zuko's heart. Zuko frowned at her and said, "Jin, I had no idea. I'm sorry—''

"You…you made me fall for a stupid lie!" Jin snapped.

That hit a nerve in Zuko's body.

"And that's what you think then? Because I'm not some perfect little earth kingdom boy like Haru—"

_"Don't drag him into this!"_

"—that since I'm the prince of the Fire Nation…it was all a lie! All the feelings….were a lie!"

"I had feelings for Li, not Zuko! And as far as I'm concerned….Li's dead and gone, behind the walls of Ba Sing Se! I've left him there and he's nothing but a memory now! I liked Li, not you Zuko! And Li...Li is dead and gone, hidden and left behind Ba Sing Se!"

"Then Agni help him!" Zuko roared and with that, their argument escalated to a higher, more dangerous level.

Zuko then realized that they were at one of the deeper antechambers now. Zuko grunted and sent a wave of fire towards her and Jin dodged it, running up a wall, somersaulting and sending an earth wall as she landed. Zuko tried to hit her with a fire-whip but Jin rolled over and twisted on the floor. Zuko began to throw a series of Firebending punches, fire balls escaping with each one, and it began to barrage Jin. Jin narrowly missed them all, shielding and often blocking them with an earth wall. She roared and sent earth spikes towards him.

"Um….guys….I think the two of you got your point across each other. You could stop now," Aang hastily said as he tried to come in between them.

"Stay out of this Aang!"Jin snapped.

"This wouldn't have happened if _someone_ would just give me a chance to _explain and say sorry!"_ Zuko growled as he sent fire balls at her with his kicks.

"Sorry doesn't fix _anything!"_ Jin growled as she crouched and dodged it.

"We have to do something! They'll kill each other!" Sokka said as he stepped forward.

Toph suddenly stopped him with her arm and she said, "No. The two of them need to figure this out and if it's this way they're going to do it….then I'm not stopping them. And besides….it's good practice for Jin. I see that I've taught her well."

Sokka gaped at her and howled, "You are _insane!_ Aang?"

Aang looked as if he was mulling it over for awhile before finally saying, "Toph's right. This there fight. We shouldn't interfere."

Jin and Zuko raged on, they're fight becoming more and more intense as it progressed. All the unsaid hurt and anger suddenly exploded and boiled over causing an immense and tremendous fight between the two of them. All the unsaid anger Jin felt towards Zuko exploded and so did Zuko's anger at Jin for not letting him explain. Jin's once peaceful, easy-going and carefree natured was decimated and she stared at Zuko with pure anger and hatred in her eyes. She sent an earth column towards Zuko. Zuko easily dodged it and it exploded on one of the walls, shattering it a little and causing some bricks to tumble down. Zuko sent a jet of fire towards her. Jin propelled some of it with an earth shield though a few marks could be now seen on the pillars.

"Um…Aang…..I get that we have to let them figure this out and stuff but should we really let them destroy a whole ancient temple?" Sokka asked as Jin dodged a fireball.

"You're right. This has gone too far," Aang firmly said as he stepped forward.

And just as Zuko was about to hit send another fireball through Aang, Aang flew up in the air and he suddenly went down with such force that wind swept through everywhere, causing both Zuko and Jin to fall backwards.

"_Enough!"_ Aang roared.

Jin and Zuko stopped and looked at each other, their eyes looking slightly guilty.

The two of them were panting hard.

"Guys, this isn't the right way to solve it!" Aang began.

"I told you he was up to no good," Katara piped up from her place.

Zuko scowled at her while Jin blinked some tears away.

Jin merely turned around and said in a bitter voice, "Aang…I don't think we should train anymore."

And with that she left and went to her room.

* * *

_Whoa. That was so intense. But anyways, maybe some of you felt that it was a little too extreme but I just went with the flow of how I felt it would've gone down. Betraying a person is really a lot to take in and forgive. I don't think Jin could feel better about it, anytime soon. The timeline officially alters here, so expect that it might be a little different from the next chapters onward. _

_I'm lame I know for updating so late but between my job and my ever-so-plenty essay and research papers, I'm having trouble squeezing this in. I'll try to update faster but I just want to warn you not to expect too much. It would probably take me two weeks to get another update down._

_But anyways, to those who took the time to read this and add this to their favorites, or me as a favorite author, or had this story alerted….thank you so much!_

_Much Kudos to those who reviewed:_

_To __Lunar Calling__: Thank you so much for your review! You have no idea how awesome that made me feel._

_To tgbwe: Sorry for updating super-late again! I'll try my best to speed things up next time. Thanks for your review. It really made my day._

_To Panther-Freedom02: Yeah, Sokka's being a major douche but he's just trying to protect his friend. The cross over idea sounds pretty cool. I think I'll look into that when I finish this fic._

_To Alana C. Jones: Whoa. You just find new ways to make me happy everyday! Thank you so much for the review! It's like….worth more than gold ^_^_

_To Kokomojeezus: Thank you so much! They'll make up very soon, I promise. But anyways, thanks again for the awesome review! I swear, that sent me flying to the moon._

_To ArrayePL: Thank you so much for the review! It made me feel awesome!_

_To SuperninjaX: That's one of the best reviews I've gotten! Thank you, thank you so much!_

_To glamouraj: LOL, I know that my chapters tend to be too long sometimes but thanks for sticking through it. Thank you so much for awesome, awesome review._

_To MarieZenalou: Thank you so much for that great review! Whoa, you guys are so awesome that I feel so guilty for updating so late. But anyway, thank you so much!_

_Always, always press the review button!_

_Don't leave me hanging._

_:D  
_


	20. Part XIX

**Burning Bright**

_Part XIX_

No one really spoke about Jin and Zuko's enormous and extreme argument; everyone was too afraid that they might hit a nerve on their bodies after seeing the way they fought each other. Jin, after the fight, bravely went through dinner keeping up a cheerful façade though Sokka often caught her grumbling and muttering heatedly under her breath at times or looking off into the distance with sad and distant eyes. Zuko wasn't as graceful. He gave a loud, gruff snort as soon as Jin stalked off before turning on his heel and storming into his room, not once coming out even for dinner. Katara and Toph were very curious and the two of them wanted to give Jin a full interrogation as soon as the fight was over but Sokka quickly stopped them stating that Jin and Zuko were obviously very hurt and angry with each other and they were not ready to talk about their issues with each other just yet.

"And how would you know?" Toph snorted disbelievingly as soon as Sokka declared that Jin and Zuko didn't want to talk about their argument right now.

"_I just do_," Sokka arrogantly announced.

Katara scoffed before going forward in Jin's direction and saying, "Look, Jin obviously needs comforting and I think—''

"Hold your emu-horses Katara. Don't bother Jin," Sokka said as he stopped her by hooking her elbow with his hand.

Katara raised her brow at Sokka and said in a rather irritated tone, "Sokka, Jin needs someone to lean into—''

"_No._ Jin needs to be left _alone._ You know how she is. She'll just keep you talking in circles to avoid having to talk about something she doesn't wanna talk about. She'll come around and when she's _ready,_ she'll start talking," Sokka said in a very all-knowing voice that did nothing but inflame Katara's irritation.

"Sokka, she's very, _very_ hurt. And by that insensitive jerk nonetheless—''

"Aww, come one Katara. Zuko's not that bad," Aang defended, finally speaking up from his place. He had spent most of the time twiddling and playing with a marble under his sleeve and he didn't look too eager to participate in the impending argument between Sokka and Katara.

"What?" Katara snapped as she whirled to face Aang.

"Well…he may be grumpy…and cranky….and humorless….and well…he just doesn't like to have fun in general but other than that he's a really good guy with good intentions. And I think he's really trying his hardest to fit in with us and to make up for all the wrong things he's done," Aang mumbled as he twiddled his thumbs.

"What you just said had not changed my opinion in anyway whatsoever," Katara said flatly.

She then turned back to Sokka and continued, "But anyways, back to my main point. Jin is obviously very hurt and very angry and—''

"Katara, Zuko's very hurt and very angry too," Sokka interrupted. On his face, the "I-understand-some-things-better-than-you" look was plastered on it and that never fails to set Katara and Sokka off into a heated debate, one which Sokka usually wins but also one which Katara rarely conceded so easily.

"_He's hurt and angry?_ Can you even hear yourself? Sokka, he's not the one whose city got burned or who got lied too!" Katara spat, her voice starting to reach her usually nagging pitch. Behind her, Toph started to make mocking imitations of Katara, her hands moving vividly and her expressions reaching exaggerated comedy. Aang had to stifle a bursting laughter to keep his calm.

"Well, Katara, I know that this might be news to you but guys and even the _manliest men_ could get hurt and feel pain and get angry and Prince Jerkface is no exception!" Sokka continued. From her place, Toph began to imitate Sokka in a very comical and exaggerated manner. Peals of laughter started to escape from Aang's mouth.

"Zuko's pretty much heartless. I don't see how he could—''

"Give the guy a break Katara! He's not so bad you know—''

"Oh no! _You too?_ I can't believe he also got you fooled with his whole "good boy" act—''

"Katara! He hasn't got me fooled in anything! And I just said that he isn't _that _bad. That doesn't mean that I'm letting up on him for one moment. But anyway, all I'm saying is that he's probably just as hurt and as angry as Jin. I mean here he is, trying to atone and apologize for his mistakes and she wouldn't even give him a chance," Sokka said as he wrung his hands. Toph wrung her hands too in an exaggerated manner her face squinting into a very funny manner.

"But what he did doesn't deserve a second chance—''

"Yes it does. Everyone deserves a second chance—''

"Don't you think that what he did might have hurt Jin?"

"Yes it did….but that happened a long time ago. People can't hold on to other people's mistakes for so long like that. It's not healthy—''

"I can't believe your saying this—''

"I'm just being objective—''

"Sokka, have you forgotten all the horrible things he's done to us—''

"But this isn't about _us,_ Katara. It'd about _him and Jin_. And they obviously don't want to talk about it right now so we shouldn't push it!" Sokka said with a tone of finality.

"You wouldn't know a thing about a girl's feelings!" Katara shot back, not at all ready to give up.

"Yes, I would! Might I remind you that _unlike you_, I actually have experience with the opposite sex—''

"Oh,_ please_ Sokka! You and Yue weren't even completely official yet—''

"We kissed on the lips! How could it be not official? And besides it wasn't only Yue—''

"Then who? Suki?"

Sokka's cheeks colored and he said in a rather embarrassed tone, "Erm…no—I mean yes—I mean I don't know! We didn't really clarify….and hey what about _you?_ As if you would know any better—''

It was Katara's turn to get flustered now. She looked away from Sokka and sputtered, "I've had many experience with the opposite sex—''

Aang looked slightly jealous at the mention of Katara's former flame.

"Like who? Jet? Because from what I recall….the guy _tried to kill us!"_ Sokka roared, his face turning purple. A vein sprouted off his temple as he stared down at Katara who was matching his consternated face evenly, her face becoming just as red.

She opened her mouth to say something when Aang suddenly airbent a strong gust of wind that sent both Katara and Sokka flying backwards, breaking their heated fight apart. Toph burst into laughter and Aang tried to keep a straight face as he said, "_Enough!_ We've had enough fighting around here!"

He suddenly swiveled to Sokka and snapped, "Look Sokka, Katara wants to comfort Jin and if she wants to then let her!"

Katara smiled smugly and said, "Thank you Aang!"

Sokka frowned and said, "But—''

"And _you!"_ Aang said as he turned on Katara. He snapped, "You could comfort Jin whenever you like but never, _ever _ask her stuff she might now want to talk about and that includes the fight!"

Sokka smirked, "Exactly."

Katara huffed, "But—''

Aang held a stop sign and yelled, "Now everyone calm down and go back to your own business in _peace and quiet! _I want Jin and Zuko to be exposed in _a nice, friendly_ environment so they could feel good and be friends again!"

Sokka held a hand up and said, "Um, Aang—''

"I'm the Avatar and that's my final word!" he yelled before flying off in his glider. Toph continued to roll all over the floor in laughter.

"Ahh…who knew that our great pacifist could be blow up like that! Good ol' Twinkletoes…" Toph hollered in between fits of laughter.

Sokka frowned and said, "I was just going to say that I fully agree with him. But yeah, who knew Aang could freak out like that?"

Katara on the other hand, had a dreamy look plastered on her face, "You know what? I think being forceful actually suits Aang."

Sokka and Toph both made gagging motions in unison.

Toph muttered under her breath, "And I thought Jin and Zuko were bad."

* * *

The days went on in an agonizingly slow place with the air of subdued anger and resentment settling over each and every one of the members of Team Avatar like a thick fog. Jin and Zuko barely interacted with each other but even so, they emanated such a strong aura of hate, disappointment and sadness that everyone else felt it from a hundred mile radius. Sokka couldn't exactly pinpoint what was so wrong with the two of them. They still held each other amiably. The two of them pretended as if everything was fine and their massive fight hadn't happened at all. They had small, little conversations with each other. Jin still brought him dinner in his small nook with Appa. If he didn't know any better he would have thought that everything was fine.

But things were seriously _off._ There was chill in the air whenever Jin and Zuko were in one place together. A forced friendliness often dripped across the room whenever they regarded each other. It was as if there was a barrier, a giant wall, surrounding the two of them and whenever they would come across each other, a very prevalent friction would happen. There were moments, wherein Sokka would observe that the two of them seem to let their guard down. They were brief and quick and they never stemmed enough time for them to reconcile. Aang's idea of having a nice, warm and friendly environment didn't seem to be working.

Haru, after seeing the friction between Zuko and Jin, seemed to take this as an opportunity to impress Jin. He began a long and steady campaign to win her over, but that only seemed to cause annoyance on Jin's part and anger towards Zuko. Sokka could clearly see that for all Zuko's anger and disappointment towards Jin, he still liked her and was extremely jealous towards Haru. Jin on the other hand, showed that she clearly still cared about Zuko, since she seemed annoyed that everyone, especially Katara, had purposely excluded him from their dinner and she quietly chastised everyone for it.

According to Sokka's very clever deductions, Jin and Zuko obviously still liked each other. The two of them, combined with the fresh re-opening of their wounds, were just too hurt to make the first move. Jin was still holding on to Zuko's very painful mistakes while Zuko was too angry with Jin for going on as if nothing was wrong and not giving him a chance. The two were not willing to let anything go and as a result, they were stuck with the other's past and mistakes.

"Look at them! They're so sweet they're giving me cavities," Toph mumbled interrupting Sokka's thoughts.

Sokka looked forward and saw that Jin and Zuko were at about a meter's length away from each other with Haru sitting in the middle, yammering about something to Jin. Once or twice the two of them would sneak a glance at each other and when they realize what the other was doing they would swiftly look away and their faces would redden. After many chastisements on excluding Zuko from dinner, he was finally invited and for once he didn't refuse.

Sokka smirked and he said, "Yeah they are kinda—and _hey!_ What are you talking about! You _can't see!"_

"And you noticed that just now?" Toph sarcastically said.

"How did you know that they were even there?" Sokka said looking confused.

"_Please,_ Sokka. I'm blind not terminally ill," Toph snickered. From his place next to her, Aang tried to hold his laughter down.

"That's not what I meant," Sokka huffed.

" Whatever. And calm down Schnoozles, what I just meant to say was that I could feel that they're lying," Toph continued as she chewed on a squid and stirred her soup with her chopsticks.

"Come again? Lying to who?" Sokka said.

"Lying to each other. Lying to themselves. Pretending to be mad at each other. Ugh, I just wish that they get it over with. It's so annoying," Toph scowled as she stretched her arms and lay back, her feet placed firmly on the ground.

Toph heightened her pitch and said in an airy tone, "Oh Zuko, my love? Do you think this new suit makes me look pretty?"

"Oh yes, it makes you look ravishing!" Aang quickly answered before Sokka could butt in, in an equally mocking tone.

"Really? You don't think it's too much?" Toph asked in mock surprise.

"No," Aang answered with an exuberant gesture.

Toph pretended to pout as she said, "Then why do you keep avoiding me?"

"Because I'm only pretending to avoid you….because deep, deep inside….I actually really like you!" Aang dramatically said. He then added, "You keep avoiding me too!"

"Well….I was just upset over what you did," Toph sighed. After a few seconds she added, "Sniffle."

"Okay, we all get it. They're being incredibly coy….and also being incredibly_ lame_," Sokka smirked, eager to join in their mirth.

Sokka opened his mouth ready to say something else when Aang suddenly bustled forward, wind flapping as he sprinted and said, "Hey, maybe we should give them a little _help."_

Aang leaned forward conspiratorially as Sokka frowned, slapped his forehead and said, "How many times do I have to tell all you guys that it's not good to _meddle!"_

"I didn't say that we were going to meddle. I said that we were going to _help_," Aang defensively said.

Sokka pointed out, "You guys are worse than Katara! And besides everyone knows that helping is just a nicer way of saying _that you plan to meddle!"_

Toph turned her back on Sokka with a flourish, faced Aang and with an impish smirk on her face, she said, "You're on to something there Twinkletoes."

Sokka, panicked and not ready to concede, quickly jumped in between two of them and said, "I can't believe you two are actually planning to do this! Do any of you actually listen to me? This is going to cause nothing but more arguments between the two of them."

"Not if we do it right," Toph snorted.

"And besides Sokka, there's no harm in trying—''

"Everyone knows that that's not true!" Sokka declared weakly. Toph and Aang's eyes looked bright and glassy and they looked completely enamored with whatever idea they have planned.

"—and we know that they _really like_ each other anyway! So all we're really doing is just helping them realize and remember that!" Aang argued defensively as soon as he realized that Sokka was completely against the idea and open to doing anything to stop it.

Sokka raised a hand and said, "But—''

"Yeah, stop being such a wet blanket Sokka. You're turning into Katara," Toph dismissively said, her gray eyes aglow with enthusiasm and the traces of a smirk plastered on her lips.

Sokka shook his head, feeling very insulted. He protested indignantly, "Hey! I most certainly am not turning into Katara—''

"Yes, you are," Toph declared.

"I am not—and that's not the point! You two will probably just make things worse! Why can't we just wait for them to make up with each other? Things are perfectly fine and normal and okay right now," Sokka said with a nervous twitch in his eyes and an all too-wide smile. He sounded as if he was trying to more to convince himself then them.

"That's easy for you to say Sokka. You're not the one who Zuko keeps giving difficult drills. You know I think this fight is making him extra-crankier and my training sessions _extra-harder!"_ Aang declared.

"Same here with my Smiley. Ever since their fight, she's been horrible to train with always looking grumpy or sad," Toph said as she sat up with a more serious look on her face.

Sokka sputtered, "But—''

"And besides didn't you and Twinkletoes say that they look sweet together?" Toph demanded.

"They do look cute together," Sokka murmured as he rubbed his chin. He disliked the stupid jerk but Jin looked very miserable lately and he hated seeing his best friend being down so much.

"Exactly," Toph smugly said.

Sokka haplessly tried to protest, "But—''

Toph held a hand up and declared, "If you don't want to do it then _fine._ _Whatever._ Me and Aang are doing this so if you don't want to then you could just go to your own corner and eat worms or something."

Sokka opened his mouth the closed it then hung his head in defeat before sitting down and taking his place next to Toph.

"Thank you," Toph said in a ridiculously prim voice.

She then beckoned the two of them closer and smirked, "So…what's the plan Twinkletoes?"

* * *

Zuko rolled his eyes as Haru was again yammering to Jin about statues or earthbending or orchids or some other useless and boring stuff that he indefinitely knew that Jin would find unexciting. But if she wanted to listen to an uninteresting, boring loser then it was perfectly fine with him. He had no qualms about what she planned on doing in the future because he didn't care about her or what she does. She made it perfectly clear that she didn't want him in her life and he was going to respect her wishes.

He wasn't going to bother her.

So there.

Zuko scowled.

If he wasn't going to be bothering her why did he care so much? He wrung his hands and the bowl of soup he was holding started to grow hotter. Why is forgetting about Jin so much harder than he thought it would be? How could it seem so easy for Jin? Was it because she didn't care about him as much? That made him angrier and sadder and Zuko sorely wished that he knew.

He never intended for that fight to escalate into something so extreme. It was just that, when the time came, he couldn't control all the anger and resentment he was feeling towards Jin anymore. And now, he realized that he might never get forgiveness. Soon, when the war is over, when they have parted ways, they may never see each other again and the feeling of anger might always be with them until they die. Zuko sighed loudly. That sounded incredibly depressing.

And now Jin was going on as if nothing happened and Zuko, feeling very weary of all this madness, simply decided to play along with her obscenely optimistic charade.

Whatever.

He didn't care as much anymore.

Because things from his perspective were looking very hopeless now.

At least that was what he often told himself but from the looks of it, he wasn't sure if he was ready to live a life of force friendliness and hidden animosity towards Jin just yet.

He looked around the campfire and felt very out of place. For some reason, Sokka painstakingly made the effort to invite him over and deciding that he shouldn't make himself even more of a loser to the group than he already is, he dejectedly agreed. He was now regretting his decision seeing as that he was just as excluded from the group as always regardless of his presence there. Katara was laboring over a hot pot of soup where she was adding more carrots and turnips to the broth. The Duke sat beside her and was conversing with her and providing child-like commentaries as she stirred the soup.

Every once in a while Katara would shoot him a very angry look but she mostly preferred to ignore him. Teo didn't join them for dinner. He had gone exploring into one of the deeper antechambers with a bunch of scrolls in hand. He said that he had an idea and he wanted a sketch of the design of that particular antechamber. Everyone decided not to bother him since Teo was very serious in whatever sort of thing he got interested in.

Aang, Sokka and Toph were huddled in one corner deep in conversation. Zuko, started to entertain the idea of joining them seeing that the little blind girl and Aang was among them, but after seeing Sokka and knowing that the water tribe boy still held him with much contempt, he decided against it and settled on staying in his place.

Suddenly all three of them shot him conniving glance before promptly returning to their huddled formation.

Oh no.

Zuko knew that look all too well.

It was a look that Toph and Aang shared whenever they had some sort of scheme cooked up to get him and Jin back together. At first, he never really thought much of it because the schemes were immature and ridiculous and they held no considerable impact between him and Jin. But now that the Water Tribe boy was amongst them, he knew that he was going to have a little trouble seeing as how ingenious the Water tribe boy was. He knew that if Aang and Toph had coerced Sokka into joining their stupid little schemes, then he would be having a lot of trouble seeing as Sokka could probably come up with a foolproof plan of putting him and Jin in embarrassing situations.

And he honestly didn't need that right now. Weeks ago he might've liked to be given a chance to talk to Jin better but after their colossal argument, he decided that the two of them just really need some space right now.

Suddenly they shot him another conspiratorial glance before promptly falling back into position.

He heard Sokka say rather loudly, "No! That won't work…."

"Shut up, Sokka!" Toph hissed back.

"Guys! Eat your dinner! It's getting cold!" Katara called out, her motherly instincts once again taking over her.

The three ignored her and continued their conversation causing Katara to look severely annoyed. She huffed before continuing on her soup muttering, "Fine! See if I'll cook for you guys next time…."

Zuko started to feel nervous. What sort of schemes did those three have planned up for him and Jin?

As he subconsciously thought about Jin, he stole a glance towards her and unfortunately it turned out that she was looking at him too. The two of them looked away severely embarrassed. As Zuko gave a loud sigh and looked back at the trio, he saw that Sokka, Toph and Aang had finished whatever discussion they were having and they were now seated back, staring at Zuko and Jin with smirks and smug looks on their faces.

Zuko gulped.

This was not going to be good.

* * *

The next day, things went on routinely and that surprised Zuko, considering that Sokka, Toph and Aang had something planned up. In the morning, Aang and Katara forged on with their waterbending training while Toph drilled Jin on her Earthebending. Sokka was off doing and planning many inventions with Teo while the Duke and Haru enjoyed themselves by playing Four Kingdoms (in secret and away from the prying eyes of Katara). Zuko did what he usually did in the mornings and that was to do warm-ups and plan drills for Aang. Lately, he's been using that time to relieve all the stress and anger he's been feeling, so his pagoda often looked scorched and burned-down, its columns and pillars lined with ashes.

It was about half-way through the morning when Zuko saw what the three had planned for him.

Katara had just dismissed Aang to prepare everyone's lunch. Her habitual custom was to spread all the ingredients in one neat row, next to the fire she was kindling and the pot that hung over it, steadied by two poles. Everyone knew by now, to keep well out of Katara's way whenever her cooking was involved. She took the process very seriously and she disliked being disturbed. Furthermore, she hated it when someone messed the arrangement of her ingredients up being a very fastidious neat freak and the punishments she unleashed whenever someone did so, preceded her reputation.

Zuko was not aware of this, being always excluded and so he unwittingly entered Katara's culinary domain before training Aang. He was thirsty and the water reserve they had stocked up was neatly placed amongst the cabbages and carefully wrapped meat.

Zuko should've known something was up the moment he saw Toph hanging out near Katara.

She was sitting in a very laid-back manner on a log and she had a very contented smirk on her face. Katara toiled over her porridge, steadily ignoring Toph and completely unaware of Zuko's presence. Zuko narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Toph rarely hung out with Katara, and watching her do nothing but cook was something Toph was most definitely least likely to enjoy.

"Got a problem, Sparky?" Toph asked easily as Zuko carefully ambled towards the jars of water after a good amount of staring.

"How did you know I was here?" Zuko asked, a little startled. He was still rather incredulous as to how the little blind girl could see with her feet and was very unsure of how it worked.

"I'm blind, not_ helpless_. Jeez, do I have to explain this to you people every single time? But anyway,_ I'm over that._ So, what's up with you? Got a problem?" Toph wearily said.

"Um…..no. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training with….Jin?" Zuko found it slightly odd that it took him a full thirty seconds before he could actually spit Jin's name out.

Katara startled jumped up a little and said in a rather irritated fashion after discovering Zuko and Jin's presence, "What are you two doing here? Zuko, shouldn't you be training Aang? And Toph how about you and Jin?"

Toph snorted and said sarcastically, "What? You don't want me here Sugar Queen? I feel hurt."

Katara huffed as she stirred some onions into the porridge, "I was just saying that maybe you guys should do your duties first before messing around!"

"I just wanted a drink of water," Zuko quickly said.

"And Smiley's doing well enough. I just left her to finish the drill. She's almost mastered every single drill I could think of. And besides, her head ached or something," Toph dismissively said.

"What? Is she okay?" Zuko sputtered, concerned.

Toph yawned and drawled, "She's fine. _Relax, Sparky_. It was the glare of the sun. If you hadn't noticed, Firebreath, it's scorching outside. Why'd you think I came here in the first place?"

Zuko, finding nothing else to say, wordlessly nodded and quickened his steps as he moved forward to where the jars of water were. He didn't like Toph's expression. Some cabbages and lettuce were wrapped neatly alongside baskets of preserved and dried meat. He hurried passed Katara and her row of ingredients and stooped over, picked up a jar and took a long sip. Just as he was about to close the jar again, he suddenly felt something hard and solid hit his heel and before he knew it, he had tripped forward and all the cabbages, the rows of vegetables and wrapped-up meat came splattering around. A few jars tumbled over and water was spilled.

Katara's concentration on her porridge finally broke and just as Toph expected, she flew into rage.

"What happened? What happened to the food! What's going on!" she screeched as she whirled around. Zuko hastily tried to fix his mistake but it was too late. The cabbages were rolling away, the lettuce had splattered one the ground and the meat lay askew from their wrappings.

Toph tried to hide a giggle. Zuko's eyes snapped wide in realization and he said accusingly as he pointed at Toph_, "You."_

Toph shrugged innocently. Before Zuko could retort anything else, Katara barreled over towards him and snapped, "_You. _Now, look what you did! That was a week's worth of supplies!"

Zuko raised his hands up in defense and said, "Look, it was an accident—''

"With you, something's always bound to go wrong! Now back off while I try to salvage some of the meat and vegetables!" Katara snapped as she elbowed him away and bent over.

"Look, Katara—''

"Don't talk! I don't want another disaster to happen!" Katara peevishly said.

"Look, I could fix it!" Zuko snapped losing his temper.

"Like how? The food is _ruined_ Zuko! Now we can't eat for one whole week!" Katara spat.

"I'm sorry—''

"Is this what your evil plan is? Starving us to death?" Katara raged as she hastily tried to put everything in order.

"What? No! I would never—''

"What's going on here?" Sokka asked as if on cue. Toph's smirk grew wider and Zuko suddenly realized why. Jin was trailing behind Sokka with Aang trying to stifle a laugh from her behind. Jin looked a little confused as she stared at the scene displayed before her.

"Um…did you ask for me Katara?" Jin asked amidst the confusion and raging on Katara's part.

Katara looked confused and she frowned, "Hm? No. I didn't ask for you."

Jin furrowed her brow and said, "That's funny. Sokka told me—''

"Okay, everyone! Let's stop talking about pointless things and move on!" Sokka edgily said, as he elbowed Jin into silence.

As always, her stubborn and persistent nature preceded her and she said, "But, you told me—''

Sokka raised his voice completely ignoring Jin as he said, "Let's talk about more important stuff! Like…what happened in here?"

Jin stared at him with narrowed eyes filled with apprehension and suspicion.

"_He_ ruined a week's worth of supplies!" Katara accused as she jerked a thumb in Zuko's direction, her voice saying the word "he" as if her mouth was full of cockroaches.

"Okay, calm down Katara. I'm sure there's a perfectly good solution to this," Sokka said in a very loud voice which gave Zuko the impression that he had planned this beforehand. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and apparently Jin realized that too because she was looking at the trio with apparent suspicion. Only Katara seemed perfectly unaware of what was truly going on.

"What solution? We-have-no-_FOOD!"_ she yelled.

"Hey, jerk, you got some cash on you?" Sokka asked diverting his attention back to Zuko.

"Um….a little—''

"Then perfect! We just let Prince Jerkface buy this week's supplies! No big deal," Sokka said with an overdramatic tone of carelessness.

"I don't trust him to go off on his own. He might go to some Fire Nation official or his sister or do something all so he could get his grubby, little Fire Nation claws all over Aang," Katara flatly said.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not evil anymore!" Zuko snapped.

"Then maybe someone should go with you to you know make sure you don't do anything funny," Sokka said. Zuko glared at him.

"Or to you know…prove Katara wrong," Aang hastily abated.

"Well, don't look at me. There's no way I'm going to go around town in this weather. It's hot," Toph whined.

"I have to do my training," Aang quickly said.

"Well I refuse to be stuck with him for one minute," Katara said as she turned her nose up in the air and sniffed.

"Well someone has to go with him…to you know…watch over him…say….I don't know…..someone like…_Jin_, maybe?" Sokka said.

Jin's face withered and Zuko looked nervous and uncomfortable.

"What? No! I'm busy," Jin shortly said.

"With what? Training? Smiley, your training's over for today," Toph smirked.

"But—''

"And besides everyone knows that you know him best," Toph added.

Jin glared at Toph and snapped, "What—no! I don't know him best—''

"Yeah, yeah keep talking Smiley," Toph drawled.

Finally, Katara seemed to have understood what all this was about. First she stared in a very confused manner at Toph then Aang and then Sokka. She then looked angry and her interfering nature took over once again. She spat, "Look guys, I don't know what this is about but maybe we shouldn't inter—''

"Glad you accept Jin! Make sure the jerk doesn't do anything stupid!" Sokka said as he pushed Jin forward and as Aang and Toph did the same with Zuko before Katara could scold and chastise them.

"But I have to train Aang!" Zuko desperately said.

"He can go through one day without training," Toph scoffed.

"Why can't Haru watch over him?" Jin frowned.

"Because Haru is doing something important!" Aang said.

"Like what?" Jin demanded as she struggled against being dragged forwards.

"Like….I don't know….brushing his beard?" Sokka offered.

Jin didn't look too happy. She protested, "But I have to do my training—''

"Well as your Sifu, I say that training is over for today," Toph declared.

"I could go alone! I'm not a child nor will I turn you over!" Zuko snapped.

"Oh but still…we can't take any chances so….." Sokka said as the five of them exited the temple.

"Sokka—'' Jin began.

"Oh. Here we are. Have fun you two," Aang hastily said as soon as they were in front of the dirt road.

Before Jin and Zuko could make another protests, the three of them sped off with Sokka yelling, "Don't forget to get me some rib-eye peppered steak!"

* * *

Nothing could compare to the awkward silence Zuko and Jin endured as they ambled their way towards the marketplace. Zuko had no idea how to proceed about this without starting some sort of quarrel or fight. They had a colossal argument with all those people watching once how much more that now they were alone. If he had any consolation, it was that Jin didn't really know what to do either. She was standing at a meter's length away from him, her eyes looking down and her fingers toying with the hem of her blouse. Zuko, finding nothing left to do, gave a low snort, before proceeding to twiddle with his thumbs. This goes beyond any level of degree of awkwardness and he suddenly wished that he just drank from the nearby sewer instead of going to those jug of waters.

Jin adorable little nose was twitching, she was biting her lower lip, her eyes were downcast and there was a small crease in her forehead. In Zuko's opinion she looked so cute and pretty and very beautiful with the expression she was sporting now. She looked demure and uncertain and it for some reason it made her look really pretty. Zuko internally slapped himself. He wasn't supposed to be thinking of her in that way. She made it very clear that she wanted him out of her life so he was just going to respect her wishes.

Jin cleared her throat before promptly looking away. Zuko coughed and said, "So….the weather today is pretty….hot."

"Yeah, I got a little headache awhile back because of it," Jin murmured without looking at him.

"Yeah, Toph told me."

"Okay."

"…"

"..."

Zuko sighed loudly, twiddled his thumbs and muttered, "So…I have about twenty gold coins. Will that be enough?"

"No. There are nine of us and Katara usually buys two basket-fulls of vegetables and three packets of meat," Jin flatly said.

"Oh."

"But it's okay. I think I have some money. So I'm sure we'll be able to get everything in Katara's grocery list," Jin said.

"Okay."

"…"

"…"

"Is she always like that?" Zuko said, snickering a little and letting a bit of his guard down.

"Yes. She just cares about everyone a little too much sometimes. That's all," Jin shrugged, her lips forming the barest of smile.

"Nice to know that she cares," Zuko sarcastically said.

"No need to be like that. She's just like any regular mom. Mess with her babies and she'll chew you up and spit you back out alive. But earn her respect and she'll defend you until her very last breath," Jin smirked.

Feeling emboldened by the traces of a smile plastered on Jin's face, Zuko said light-heartedly, "Well, I have a feeling that she just hates me for no apparent reason—''

"_No apparent reason_? No apparent reason?" Jin snapped, looking at him angrily.

Zuko could barely react.

"How about destroying Kyoshi Island, stealing Katara's necklace and using low tricks to capture Aang?" Jin snapped. Zuko slapped his forehead.

Oh no.

Zuko couldn't believe himself. Just when Jin was warming up to him, he had gone and said something stupid. But still the comment set him on the edge. There she was again, making his past mistakes very obvious and refusing to let him explain his side of things.

How hard was it to say to give him some time to explain?

Zuko opened his mouth ready to speak but Jin cut him off and snapped, "You know what _Zuko?_ Let's just go and get this over with."

And with that, with acid dripping on her voice as she said "Zuko", she stomped ahead of him.

* * *

The day was stifling hot and the marketplace was overcrowded, more so than usual. This did not improve neither Jin nor Zuko's mood. If anything, it only made things worse. They spoke to each other with a clipped tone and that was only if they ever even spoke to each other. They mostly kept well out of each other's way, unless Jin had to tell him something about what kind of vegetable Katara usually likes. Zuko spent the time buying turnips and squash and tomatoes in one end while Jin took care of the packets of meat at the opposite end. Their exchanges were terse and curt and Zuko was quite disappointed in that even though he was very angry with Jin.

He had hoped that maybe things would be better between them this time.

They had only one item left to complete and that was the rib-eye peppered steak Sokka requested. Zuko claimed that he knew the best store to get it and since it was the last item on their list anyway, Jin grudgingly agreed to go with him. The two of them headed to the stall tucked in a less crowded spot of the city. It was a little empty and silent than when Zuko last remembered it and it was filled with shady characters. Most of them leered at Jin, whose clothes complemented her body…wonderfully and Zuko began to feel uneasy. He drew closer towards Jin in an attempt to make prevalent that no one should mess with her.

Jin seemed to be completely unaware of their less-than-stellar surroundings as she marched towards the stall and started to examined the different cuts of meat displayed, wrapped and preserved in vegetables.

"How much for a kilogram?" Jin asked the storekeeper as she fingered a big, juicy leg hanging from her left.

"'Bout five gold and two silver ones," the man gruffly said. He stared at Jin with an appraising eye and Zuko hold himself back to keep himself from knocking that idiot cold.

Jin nodded and began to examine, each and everyone with Zuko staying behind her and keeping out of her way. The man, who was big-bellied and very greasy looking, stared at Zuko with a very curious glance as Jin continued to examined and weigh the steak. Suddenly, he pulled a cigar out, belw a big puff of smoke and said, "That's one big shiner you got there fella…."

Zuko bristled. So that's why the man was staring at him. It was because of his _scar._

Normally, it doesn't bother him anymore because he was so used to it. But it never fails to set him on the edge when people ask or talk about it.

Zuko didn't answer and looked away mumbling something incomprehensible. Jin stiffened from her place but after a few seconds of awkward silence she continued, with her examination of the meat. When Zuko didn't say anything the storekeeper continued, "It's a real bad one, if you ask me. How'd you get it? Accident? Training? Army? You're from the army aren't you?"

"Not exactly," Zuko mumbled. He began to scratch his head. In her place, Jin stiffened once again, her hands clutching the meat in an angry manner. She continued on with her work but she looked severely annoyed.

"Well someone must've' hated you pretty badly to give you that _big, ugly, disgusting-looking_ scar—''

Jin suddenly whirled around and snapped peevishly saying, "Listen, here you stupid, big, fat greasy lout! Can't you see that this a sensitive topic for him? He obviously doesn't want to talk about it—''

The man narrowed his eyes and said in a dangerously low voice, "Don't talk to me in that tone you little wench—''

"Is this how you treat your customers? By bombarding them with personal and offensive questions!" Jin screeched, not letting up on her rant for even once.

"How dare you speak to me in that way you little earth kingdom peasant?" the storekeeper raged.

"Come on Zuko! Let's go! The service here is lousy!" Jin snapped as she grabbed Zuko's elbow and steered him away as she stormed off muttering under her breath.

"You're not going anywhere, missy!" the man said suddenly hooking his greasy palms into her elbow.

Jin stiffened and stared at him hardly. She pursed her lips and snapped, "Get out of our way."

"You don't think I know who you are? The scar is a very dead give-away, sweetheart. And your pretty, little,_ rebellious_ face isn't helping either," the man hissed. Suddenly, all those shady-looking men stood up, and out of nowhere, they held weapons in their hands and started to press around Zuko and Jin.

Jin paled and so did Zuko. Of course! He was an ex-prince of the Fire Nation and Jin was a wanted rebel whose wanted poster was plastered on almost every Fire Nation bulletin. How could they forget to put disguises on? Jin's brow began to bead with sweat while Zuko started to grow nervous. They were clearly outnumbered but they obviously had more skill and firepower to match. They'll be fine. At least that's what Zuko tried to tell himself. As one beefy looking guy drew his knife out, Jin subconsciously pressed closer to Zuko and she cringed though her face still looked proud and determined.

Suddenly, her slender hands brushed against his palm. Zuko looked at her and she jerked her head towards the vendor, who was busy babbling, "Oh I know all about the ex-Fire Prince. Your daddy'll pay a hefty sum for you….people say he wanted you dead or alive. And as for you sweetheart, you'll fetch me somethin' big I reckon, too…."

Her eyebrows drew upward and Zuko clearly understood. He nodded silently.

Jin glared at him and snapped, "This is the worst place I've ever been. You treat your customers badly, your service is lousy and the meat is three days old—''

"It is not," the storekeeper protested sounding incensed.

"—Zuko, I say we get our meat somewhere else…._NOW!" _

And before Zuko could say anything else, Jin lithely leaped atop the storekeeper and earthbent a couple of pressing men away. Before Zuko knew it, he and Jin were fighting together to get out of this mess. The feeling was exhilarating, being able to fight alongside Jin without lashing out on her. As he sent a fireball, she earthbent an earth spike to impale one of their opponents. They were finally in synch with one another. He had never fought alongside Jin before and the feeling was very elating—the feeling of being one, of finally working together. Zuko decided that perhaps some good would come out of this trip after all.

"Your girlfriend's got spunk! Someone needs to put that little Earth Kingdom peasant in her place!" the storekeeper hissed as he tried to kill Zuko with a knife.

"Actually she's not my girlfriend any—'' He leaped sideways as the man tried to stab him.

"Aargh!" the man screeched.

"Yeah…..we sort of have a fight….I mean a really, really big fight and now we're not talking and—_wait_ why I am telling you this?" Zuko said as he rolled over and sent jets of Fire with every spin.

The storekeeper continued to yammer as he tried to hack Zuko with his knife, "It won't be long before your father slams your disgraceful looking face unto the ground along with the Avatar and your girlfriend and all your pathetic friends will die in ash and rubble once you've heard what your father's _planned_ up—''

"Wait, what plan? My father has a plan?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"UGH!" the man yelled as he lunged forward. Zuko sent him sidewards with a kick, becoming increasingly distracted as he did so. His father had a plan for the Avatar? What was he going to do? He had to figure out what that plan was, otherwise he would never complete his destiny of helping the Avatar defeat his father.

"Look out!" Zuko screeched, snapping back to focus, as the storekeeper came up from behind Jin with a knife. Jin whirled around and just as the storekeeper lunged towards her, knife in hand, Zuko yelled, "Duck!" and sent a stream of fire towards him as Jin rolled to the ground.

Jin looked dazed as Zuko knelt down and helped her up.

"We have to go," he muttered. Jin nodded absently.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked softly as soon as he realized that she was wincing as he helped her up.

Jin gave him a quiet stare before nodding wordlessly. Zuko tried to support her with his arms but after awhile Jin seemed to have gotten her old fire back since she elbowed him away and said snippily that she could take care of herself. The two of them sped off just as soon as everyone started to become unaware that they were leaving.

They didn't stop running until they reached a safe distance which was back at the overcrowded parts. They slid into a small nook and caught their breaths.

Panting and breathing hard, Jin gasped, "Zuko…."

Expecting her to lash out again, as she had always done even when he saved her, he was mildly surprised when she said in a quiet voice, "Thanks. For you know….saving me…"

"Thanks too. For you know….sticking up for me," Zuko smiled suddenly remembering the passionate way Jin was defending him.

"I thought you didn't care," Zuko smirked after moments of silence.

"I don't. It's just that I hate it when people make other people uncomfortable—and where's the food?" Jin demanded suddenly aware that Zuko was no longer carrying the basket-fulls of vegetables and meat they had shopped for prior to the incident.

"The meat? Oh—uh…I must've dropped it when they attacked us—''

"Ugh! You are _impossible_! Katara will kill us!" Jin screeched. She drew closer to him, stabbed his chest with her pointer finger and snapped, "Since you lost all our food….you might as well go foraging in the garbage before Katara drowns us both!"

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

Zuko sighed loudly.

First things were fine, with them acting all friendly.

Then she goes and turns around and lashes out at him.

Why can't Jin just make up her mind?

* * *

"Where's the food?" Sokka gaped as soon as Jin and Zuko returned late in the afternoon. They had come back with a pitiful amount of potatoes and a very thin and anemic looking rack of ribs. The two of them only had a few coins left and this was all they could manage after that awful incident with the storekeeper. Sokka looked very disapproving and apparently so did Katara but after seeing the sour expression on Jin's face she decided not to make any further comments.

Sokka picked up a bruised potato and frowned, "You spent the whole afternoon away and all you got was _this?"_

Then in a more suggestive tone, he asked, "What exactly were you two doing back there…_alone?"_

Jin and Zuko's face reddened at Sokka's implication and in a flummoxed tone, Jin scowled as shoved the basket in Sokka's hands and snapped, "Don't ask."

She bustled over to her room to get some sleep and things went on habitually with Katara gruffly preparing their dinner with the potatoes and the thin ribs, with Toph and Aang practicing Earthbending, Sokka being annoying as always, Haru, Teo and the Duke going off in their own ministrations and Jin promptly ignoring him as usual. But Zuko had little time to think about that. All he could think about was the supposed plot his father cooked up against the Avatar that the shopkeeper let slip. Should he tell the others so they could look into it? It seemed like the best plan. He looked over to the pagoda where Toph and Aang were practicing and he saw how tired and worn-down the kid was. Aang's face looked tormented and tired. Zuko already understood that he was in a lot of pressure. He wasn't sure if he should let them worry about something as pointless as this.

And it was probably nothing. The shopkeeper probably just said that to distract him. Make him lose his focus.

But still, this wasn't something that could easily be ignored.

He had to tell someone so they could check it out. But who?

Perhaps the little blind girl. But no, she was a little too carefree and fun-loving and he highly doubted that she would help him on something as risky as a hunch. And he still wasn't sure of what to do with bringing a blind twelve-year-old girl with him on dangerous missions. Even though she proudly claimed that she could take out anyone within a hundred mile radius, he was still very uncomfortable with bringing someone handicapped to dangerous missions.

He most certainly could not tell Aang. The poor kid had enough troubles already. And he was only _twelve._

And the water tribe siblings were most definitely out of the options. They mostly regarded him with contempt and distrust and perhaps they would see this as another ruse to capture the Avatar instead of a sincere intention.

He couldn't imagine bringing a child and a cripple along so he definitely did not want to ask Teo and the Duke. And Haru was not even an option. Zuko despised him to his very last bone and he would rather eat nails then ask that nitwit to come with him.

Perhaps he could go alone but that was risky and dodgy considering he might need back-up if ever he got himself in trouble. He had to ask someone. Someone who was serious enough to take his information seriously. Someone who didn't hold him with contempt. Someone who at least trusted him enough to treat him amiably. And the only person left was….

_Jin._

Zuko scowled.

Stupid Toph.

Stupid Aang.

Stupid Sokka.

Stupid Jin.

Stupid schemes.

Stupid plan that actually worked.

Why do things have to be so complicated for him?

* * *

As soon as the sun sank beneath the horizon, Katara called everyone to dinner. Everyone sat in their usual places, with Sokka, Toph and Aang forming their conspiratorial little trio, The Duke and Teo huddling in their corner and Jin and Katara sitting near the pot. Haru decided not to bore Jin tonight as he was sitting with the Duke and Teo. That would make things ten times easier for him. But he still had Katara to deal with. Zuko rubbed his hands together nervously.

He hoped that he'll be able to pitch his worries to Jin successfully without sparking a fight. He ambled towards hem, clutching his empty bowl nervously. The two were deep in conversation about something and as he stood in front of them, the two of them didn't realize he was there for the longest of time. Finally, Jin was the first to notice him. She looked up in surprise though it was Katara, who talked first saying, "What? What do you want?"

"Um…I need to talk to Jin," Zuko mumbled.

Katara stared at him suspiciously as she said, "Fine. Go on. Talk."

"I mean that I need to talk to her…_alone_," Zuko murmured as he found it unsettling to be glared upon by Katara. He began to see-saw in his place uncomfortably as Katara continued to look on with apprehension.

In an obnoxiously loud voice, she screeched, "About what? Can't you see that she obviously does not want to talk to you—''

"No, it's okay Katara. It's all cool," Jin re-assuringly said a she rose and stood up. Katara looked on with disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something but Jin silently shook her head. Katara huffed loudly and sighed, conceding. Zuko breathed a sigh of relief as Jin walked towards his side. At least this went on successfully.

Jin gestured for him to lead the way and Zuko pointed to the spot where he always ate, which was at the edge of the pagoda, away from everyone else and near Appa. Just as the two were about to depart, Katara suddenly said in a high-pitched voice, "If you try anything funny, Zuko…I swear I'll kill you!"

Then in a softer voice she said to Jin, "If he ever pulls something—''

"Don't worry Katara. I can take care of myself," Jin smiled.

Zuko cringed as Jin sighed bemusedly, tugging at Zuko's arm. As soon as they neared Appa, Jin easily slid down on his tail and buried herself in his fur crooning, "And how are you big guy? Is Zuko being good eating company?"

Appa gave a mighty roar of approval.

"He's not being his usual boring self?" Jin cooed. Zuko huffed.

Appa shook his giant, shaggy head and gave Jin a very wet lick.

"Nice to know, you're actually being fun with someone," Jin smirked as she turned and faced him. She crossed her arms and for the first time, she actually looked playful and happy.

"I'm always fun," Zuko grumbled.

"Well….that's according to you."

"Well, that's according to you too."

"Whatever you say, you fun-sucker," Jin smirked and Zuko found himself smirking too. He had involuntarily fallen into their usual pattern of bickers and childish fighting. He had forgotten what ridiculous conversations they used to have and how easily they fell into it. Zuko suddenly missed all those moments and he hemmed and hawed in his place as a silence started to fill.

"So anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?" Jin asked, her face looking a little hopeful.

"The shopkeeper said something about Aang and I think we need to look into it," Zuko quickly said.

"Oh," Jin frowned, looking a little disappointed.

It suddenly occurred to him that maybe she wanted him to tell her something else. Something which he had wanted to tell her ever since he became part of the Team Avatar and that was that he was sorry and he wanted a second chance. Maybe he should've talked about that now instead of what he was planning to tell her.

Zuko scowled.

How could he be so stupid?

He hastily tried to fix his mistake, saying, "Um…yeah…but that's not the only thing—''

"What about Aang? What happened? What did he say?" Jin asked looking concerned. Zuko sighed. She was now completely absorbed in that topic. He couldn't believe that he just threw away his big chance to give his "I'm-sorry" speech again.

"He said something about my…_.dad_….having a plan to kill Aang," Zuko mumbled, finding it hard to say the word, "dad".

"What? Shouldn't we tell the others about this?" Jin said sounding panicked as she sat upright.

"No….it's nothing confirmed, okay? That's why I didn't need to tell the others yet," Zuko quickly said.

"Then why tell me? What's wrong?" Jin asked looking concerned.

"I just wanted to make sure that it's really something before all of us start fussing. I mean Aang…he's got so much on his plate right now. I needed to go look into it and I can't go alone….cause I might get captured and all…and I might need help. And you're the only one who….who….I'm sort of comfortable with…" Zuko blushed hard at this as his ramble became increasingly erratic. "….and you're also the one who I knew the longest and who sort of knows me best and well….the others still don't like me and all and…"

"Yeah, sure I'll help you," Jin shrugged. Zuko stared at her in surprise and she said in a more serious tone, "What do we need to do?"

"First…we need to figure out a way to get the…"plan"…..my dad has schemed up," Zuko quickly said.

"Oh that's easy. We just go to the nearest military base from here, infiltrate it, get to the vault and—''

"I'm sorry, what?" Zuko asked sounding confused.

"_The vault_. Every military base has one. Every week, your _dad _sends new updated battle plans and announcements to it every day. If we go to the nearest one, I'm sure we could find out something about it," Jin continued, sounding impatient.

"How did you know that?" Zuko sputtered. He had no idea about that and_ he_ was the prince of the fire Nation. Zuko sighed. Chalk that up to another item in his list of "being a useless loser who does not know anything".

Jin shrugged and said, "I learned about that when Sokka joined the army."

"Sokka joined the army?" Zuko said, barely containing his surprise.

"Yup. I had to pretend to be his wife—''

"What?" Zuko frowned sounding a little jealous. He suddenly remembered encountering Jin as pregnant lady during the time he gave a speech to that Fire Nation Academy.

"Actually….that part is an accident. I wasn't supposed to pretend to be his wife when he joined the army—''

"But why did he join the army in the first place?"

"To gather information and intel. Now please, don't interrupt," Jin said, sounding a little irritated. In a lighter voice, she continued, "Anyway, I pretended to be his wife back when Aang when to school and he got in trouble so someone had to act as his parents—''

"Aang went to _school? _As in _Fire Nation School?"_ Zuko said sounding more and more confused.

"Yes. Anyway, it's a really long story so don't ask," Jin said quickly.

"You guys are really kooky, you know that?" Zuko smirked.

"We try hard," Jin smirked.

"A lot sure has happened before I came here," Zuko said as he chuckled.

"Maybe you should've come sooner. Or maybe you shouldn't have left at all," Jin said, her voice sounding distant and hollow. The meaning of the words weighed heavily on Zuko and for awhile he could barely function, the hurt and dissapointmnet pouring out of the seams all over again. Jin looked away while Zuko looked trying his best to think of what to say next.

As always things went sour and downhill between them.

"All right. Let's get our plan down. What's the nearest military camp from here?" Jin asked, forcing a laugh as she tried to brush away the awkwardness she felt.

Zuko tried to jog his memory of learning all the military camps as one of his duties of being a Fire Nation prince. After awhile he said, "I know one. It's only a few blocks from the marketplace."

"Good. How soon can we make it there?" Jin asked, looking serious again.

"Tomorrow by nightfall," Zuko promptly answered.

"Katara and the rest would know something was up."

"Not if we tell them, we're going out to buy more vegetables," Zuko finished.

"How will we get there?"

"By foot. Unless you want to take my hot air balloon."

"That would probably draw too much attention," Jin frowned.

"That's exactly why we're walking," Zuko smirked.

"I guess it's settled then," Jin said finally after a few more minutes of planning.

"Yeah. I guess so," Zuko mumbled suddenly feeling awkward.

"So….I should go now. Katara's getting uneasy. One more minute and she'll probably march over here and…blow up…heh," Jin mumbled as she stood up and twisted her bowl round and round. She glanced over at Katara who was eyeing Zuko venomously.

"Yeah. Okay," Zuko said.

Jin opened her mouth as if she was about to say something else but after a few minutes, she closed it, turned around, rubbed Appa for one last time and walked away.

Appa gave another loud roar.

Zuko sighed, turned to Appa and said, "Yeah. I know. I don't think I'll ever understand girls. One minute we were perfectly fine and the next, we were awkward with each other."

After a few minutes of mental trepidation, he added thoughtfully, "Girls are crazy."

* * *

The day went by slowly for Zuko the next day. Even though he desperately tried to will himself not to feel the anticipation that was building inside him, he always found himself looking forward to the night ahead of him and his little excursion with Jin. Apparently Aang noticed it too, because he realized that his Sifu was being more patient with him—Zuko let him do an easy drill, he didn't spend training sessions watching Aang with a critical eye rather he whistled and made cheerful comments all the way and lastly, he allowed training to be finished early. Armed with these new insights, he carefully pried Toph away from her training with Jin, called Sokka from his failed hunting expedition and said with an impish grin, "They're getting back together."

"How are you so sure?" Sokka asked as he scratched his ears. Apparently he had a run-in with some poisoned moss and after getting a very painful treatment from Katara, he wasn't in a very pleasant mood.

"Was Sparky acting all cheery today?" Toph asked.

"Yeah. What about Jin?" Aang asked smirking.

"Cheery as the sunshine," Toph sarcastically said. She then added, "Dude, we are so awesome."

"Okay, okay, I'm getting confused. Fill me in," Sokka roared creating a time-out sign.

Toph scowled and said, "Ugh. Can't you ever catch up? Remember when we saw Jin and Zuko talking to each other alone, last night together?"

"Yeah….but that doesn't really prove anything," Sokka skeptically said.

"You are such a scatterbrain! They talked to each other last night. Zuko gave Aang easy drills and Smiley was so peppy she actually earthbent her way into the next drill. Try to keep up, will you, you dum-dum?" Toph said impatiently.

"Well…I do admit they're acting strangely….but I'm still keeping up with my suspicions," Sokka said as he rubbed his ear.

"Do you think we should follow them? I think they're planning something for tonight," Aang eagerly said.

"Alright everyone!_ Stop and freeze_! No one's following anyone tonight!" Sokka declared as he rubbed his ear.

"And why not Schoonzles?" Toph demanded.

Sokka said as he began to enumerate, "Firstly, it's none of our businesses. Secondly, they obviously don't want it to be our business because unless they do, they haven't told us. Thirdly, they might do…a bunch of stuff that twelve-year-olds aren't supposed to see—''

"But I'm blind," Toph protested.

"And I'm not twelve anymore," Aang added.

"That's not the point! You two aren't going and if you will….I swear I'll tell Katara on you!" Sokka grunted as he began to scratch his ear more rapidly. Finally after minutes of scratching and scratching he yelled as he flailed away, "Stupid moss! Aaargh!"

Toph blew the hair out of her forehead and huffed, "I can't believe it. What a wet blanket. I swear everyone's catching Katara's no-fun disease."

* * *

"Zuko."

Zuko whirled around and before he could say anything else, a hand clamped unto his mouth. He cleared his eyes and saw that it was Jin and before he could stop himself, his heart beat ten times faster. Like him, she was dressed in all black; black boots were strapped unto her feet along with black gloves on her hands, the form-fitting black top and pants hung unto her slender and shapely body splendidly and she was wearing a black hood, that had a small covering for her mouth.

They had decided to meet outside the Western Air Temple. As they stood before each other, the dark pervading above them, Zuko couldn't help but feel that this was a clandestine lover's meeting rather than a very important and risky mission.

"The others are asleep. I think. But it won't be long before one of them wakes up. They're all very sensitive and on high alert especially with…Fire Nation…attacks happening," Jin whisered saying the word Fire Nation in a very delicate manner as if she was afraid it would offend Zuko.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Zuko grumbled after remembering how Toph's earth wall connected to his head after she found him stumbling around in the night. He had simply gone to get a drink of water and after passing by Toph well….things just didn't pan out too well. He realized that everyone was being extremely paranoid.

"Let's go," Jin mumbled, tucking something in from behind her. Zuko peered over her shoulder and widened his eyes after seeing that it was a pair of dual dao swords, the very same one he forged for her.

Zuko smiled to himself. Seeing the pair of swords hanging upon her shoulder, he felt more re-assured, as he finally saw that maybe she did think of him sometimes.

After a few more minutes of silent preparation the two of them sped off at once. Zuko and Jin had no difficulty in finding the nearest military base with Zuko's knowledge of all base camps and Jin's uncanny ability to weave her way in and out past people's noses without them noticing. In the darkness of the night, she was like a quick, fleeting raven and Zuko was matching her lithe pace step by step.

When they reached the military camp, Jin began to grow nervous.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked as they hid themselves behind a small shrub.

"I forgot that there was so many of them," Jin whispered.

"It never bothered you that much when you were fighting against the Dai Li," Zuko mumbled.

"I didn't almost get captured when I was fighting with the Dai Lee," Jin whispered back furiously.

"Almost….captured?….ah. Right. Long story," Zuko said stopping Jin before she could open her mouth.

"Zuko….I'm nervous."

"That's unbelievable."

"What? I can't be nervous?" Jin snorted looking annoyed.

"Well…..you're always so assertive and confident…."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean when you want something….you don't wait for it to come to you. You go out and get it. Sort of like when you asked me out on a date," Zuko said as he couldn't help brining that up.

"What does that have to do with our situation right now?" Jin hissed, her face coloring.

"I'm just saying that you're the kind of person who gets what she wants once you've put your mind to it. I hardly think that a platoon of Firebenders would stop you," Zuko re-assuringly said and after a few moments, courage took over him, and he reached his hand out, clamped it on Jin's shoulder and gave it a re-assuring squeeze.

To Zuko's relief, she didn't re-act in a negative way. She did however pause for a short while, her eyes looking thoughtful and her mouth in an adorable little pout. After awhile she broke into a large grin, gently shrugged off Zuko's hand and said brightly, "You're right. I can do this. I can do anything once I've set my mind to it."

And before Zuko could say anything else, she stood up and lightly sprinted forwards into the shadows.

* * *

"I can do anything once I've set my mind to it. Hmpf. _What kind of baloney advice is that?" _Jin hissed as she desperately tried to keep her balance.

Things did not work out, exactly as they planned. Their plan was that Zuko distract the Fire Nation guards while Jin sneaked into the vault being more familiar with it. What they did not anticipate however, was the alertness of the fire Nation guards. Zuko had barely stepped foot inside the premises when he was already surrounded by hundreds of guards. He fled and unwittingly stumbled into Jin who was trying to take possession of the key to the vault. As they tried to escape from the mob, the two of them placed themselves in a rather precarious position with Zuko only being a breadth's width away from Jin.

They were trying to hide in a utility room and he was trying to desperately shush Jin who was raving mad, "I can't believe this! We're going to die!"

"Would you hush up? If you keep talking like this, we're _really_ going to die," Zuko snapped, as he awkwardly tried to reshuffle his feet. They were standing on a small, raised platform that served as container for some inner armor , surrounded by a room full of sharp artillery that was bound to go off and make noises and possibly stab them at the slightest movement.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Jin snapped heatedly. She tried to point an accusing finger at Zuko, but that only resulted in nearly making her lose her balance.

Before she could fall into a heap of armor, thereby making a whole lot of noise, she frantically reached for Zuko's shirt while Zuko hastily grabbed her wrist. He quickly pulled her back up and Jin, out of sheer panic, began to press closer to him.

"We have to leave," Jin whispered.

"I think it's pretty obvious that we _can't…._considering that there are a hundred Fire Nation soldiers waiting for us outside!" Zuko said, his voice rising an octave higher.

"We wouldn't be having this problem if _someone_ had just distracted the guards as _we planned_!" Jin shot back.

Uh oh.

Zuko knew it.

He knew it.

They were going to get into a fight.

_Again._

Of all the times, why now?

Before he could stop himself, Zuko furrowed his brow and defensively said, "There were more than I anticipated okay? And why is it my fault? I distracted them long enough! If_ you_ had just gotten the key faster—''

"Don't you dare blame this on me you heartless jerk—''

"Oh, I'm the heartless one? That's real funny coming from a girl who wouldn't even give a guy a second chance—''

"You lied and betrayed me for your stupid honor, Zuko! What am I supposed to do? That isn't exactly something that a person can forget so easily—''

"You know what Jin? Just go on and yell like that so the fire Nation can capture us! Or maybe you could…I don't know….grab a sword and stab me—''

Jin's face reddened and she flushed, "What are you—''

"I mean then you'd get exactly what you want. Which is getting me dead, right?" Zuko said, his voice laced with fake mirth and sarcasm.

"What—no! I never meant it that way!"

"Well, you sounded like you mean it!"

Suddenly Jin broke out into a small smile and she said in a little teasing voice, breaking their heated argument for a brief second, "I can't believe it. You're hurt."

"No, I'm not."

"You_ do_ still care," Jin said, her voice rippling with surprised awe. Zuko stared at her blankly. What was that supposed to mean? Did she think, during all those times they ignored each other that he didn't care? But no. She didn't want him anymore. She hated him with every fiber of her being. She even wanted him dead.

Zuko said icily though he felt the exact same opposite, "I don't."

Jin's eyes softened and she mumbled a little abashedly, "Zuko…I never meant it that way. I mean…I wasn't thinking straight…I didn't know what I was saying—''

"Would you just stop? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you don't want me in your life—''

"I never meant it that way—''

"Yes, you did—''

"Would you please just listen for awhile?" As soon as Jin said this, it was as if she was slowly beginning to unravel what Zuko had been feeling these past few days. Did he feel like this? Was she always this inconsiderate and unwilling to hear him out? Jin frowned. She never thought that she behaved in that way of any sort.

"Why should I? You _never_ listened," Zuko snapped before he could control himself.

"Ugh! Why must you be so infuriating?" Jin snapped, losing her patience.

"Why must _you _be so infuriating!"

Jin glared at him, gave a loud huff, before saying angrily, "I don't have time for this. I might as well—whoa!" And before she could balance herself and before Zuko could grab her again, she fell head first into the pile of armor making a loud noise. Immediately, Zuko heard a chorus of loud voices accompanied by the harried sound of footsteps.

He quickly leaned forward and tried to grab Jin's hand. Jin growled and slapped it away saying peevishly, "Don't touch me—''

"Can't you see that I'm trying to help you?"

"Well I don't want your help!"

A loud voice boomed followed by the sound of footsteps becoming more audible.

A bead of sweat rolled down Zuko's forehead. He said through gritted teeth, "Um…Jin? Now's really not the right time for us to fight—''

A loud banging resounded.

"What do we do?" Jin frantically said after realizing the gravity of their situation.

"We obviously can't storm out—''

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Zuko incredulously said as Jin clumsily twisted herself to face backwards amidst all the weaponries. Her back touched Zuko's and Zuko felt a small shiver coming from his spine at the small contact they made with each other. She grabbed an armor and strapped it unto her arm.

"Okay….get ready—''

"What are we going to do?" Zuko nervously asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to storm out!" Jin said rather impatiently.

"_What?_ Are you crazy?"

"No. You come up from the front with your power while I take care of the rear…"

"Um Jin…are you sure this is going to work?"

"….in three, two, ONE!"

She suddenly pushed him forward causing him to open the door. Reacting on instinct and basing it on what Jin told him, he immediately thrust his palm forward, and without looking, sent an entire wave of fire towards his perpetrators. He suddenly felt pressure at his back, causing him to crouch downwards further and before he knew it, Jin was sailing atop of him, using his back as a spring and landing directly unto one of the guards. Finding no earth to bend, she settled on giving a high kick and using the shield as a guard from the flames as Zuko sent more waves of fire. As soon as Jin subdued one guard, she hastily grabbed Zuko's elbow, ducking from a burst of flame he sent and said, "We have to go."

Zuko sent one last burst of flame before promptly running away as fast as he could with Jin. They made it as far as the courtyard when suddenly a wave of fire separated them. Jin lithely regained her steps as she dodged it falling sidewards and away from Zuko while Zuko firmly stood his ground, barely flinching as the fire lightly grazed him.

"Now what do we have here? Aahhh….is that the ex-Fire Nation prince I see?" a large, beefy man chortled as he came forward. He was like a big, pink balloon, with his flesh oozing out of the Fire Nation armor and his great, fat head squeezed into a helmet. He regarded Zuko with a mixture of contempt and light amusement.

"Let us pass," Zuko mumbled as he drew his arms forward.

"Not if I can help it, boy. You're father gave orders that he wants you at the foot of his fancy, schamncy throne. _Dead or alive_," the man said, curling his lips into a cruel smile as he said so.

"Then you're just going to have to send him this!" Zuko growled and he leaned forward and sent the man a wave of fire, making him take a step backwards. The man gave a loud squeal before flailing backwards. Immediately hundreds of troops started to clamor around them.

As one of the soldiers started to come forward towards Zuko, the man roared, "Back off! There's still power in this old man still. He's _mine."_

No one bothered to argue to that. Everyone backed away to give the man and Zuko more room. Jin nervously stood up and was about to run but just as she was about to let away into a crowd of onlookers, she felt something stop her. She didn't know why but she felt a sort of dread rising in her heart. A part of her was telling herself that now was the perfect time to go to the vault and look for the new battle plan. But she couldn't run. She simply melted in with the growing crowd of soldiers. No one even bothered to try and capture her. Everyone was too fixated on Zuko and the big, beefy man whom everyone referred to as captain.

She was worried.

Jin frowned.

What was this?

_She was worried?_

That must be it. She was worried that something awful was going to happen to him. And how could she not? There he was, looking so brave in his fighting stance surrounded by hundreds of fire nation soldiers, ready to claw him out at the slightest mistake. Jin wanted to yell at him that they have to leave. That this was no match for them. But he was too stubborn and determined to let anything stand in his way once he's put his mind to it. It was funny. In a way, he was like someone from the earth kingdom—strong, resilient and ever-persistent.

Jin pushed someone off to the side, hoping to get a glimpse of Zuko and to get a word in when suddenly the big, beefy man caught her eye. As he stared at her he broke out into a disconterting grin.

"Zuko—''

Her voice was drowned out by the roar of fire that burst from the big, beefy man's palm. It sped towards Zuko, who easily dissipated it with a punch. He gave a loud inhale before throwing a series of punches and from then, it was all a fast blur to Jin. All she saw were bright arcs of light, Zuko's sure but speedy footsteps outpacing the captain's. He was clearly gaining the upper hand and the crowd of soldiers, glad to see a good fight, jeered boisterously. A few of them began to get so excited that they pressed around her, shoving her and pushing her to the side.

There was a small, momentary pause in their little battle. The captain was in a standing position, breathing hard his face red and lined with sweat while Zuko was in a crouching position, his body tensed as a loaded spring.

Nobody made a sound for awhile.

The captain raised his hand.

Zuko readied to block it and to extinguish the flame with one push of his palm.

Then suddenly, he faced sidewards, looked at Jin and gave her a mocking grin before sending her a jet of flames.

"NO!"

All the soldiers around her scrambled away as the fire sped towards her. Jin couldn't move. She blacked out. And just when she could feel the pervading heat going near her, something smashed against her front and before she knew it, she heard the loud cries of pain.

"Zuko!" Jin yelled as soon as she figured out what had happened.

Zuko gave a groan as Jin stumbled towards him, the armor banging against her knee.

Her hand shot out to his hair, she ruffled it and murmured, her voice cracking, "What happened? Where does it hurt?"

"My arm…" Zuko groaned weakly. Jin's fingers skimmed his torn sleeve and burnt arm, fresh blood gushing out of it and her usual stony and firm resolve crumbled a little.

Suddenly, the captain's maniacal laugh splayed across the background.

"You and your girlfriend will be a nice little gift to your father, boy. I 'spects that I'll be general by the end of this month—''

Suddenly, a huge, brass armor swung in his direction. He barely avoided it and it grazed a part of his forehead. Jin angrily stood up and tried to blink away the tears from her eyes.

"Let us pass," she hoarsely said as she rose up.

The captain stumbled and growled, "Not on my watch you little—''

Jin suddenly came at him, dual dao swords in hand and before he knew it he was being pressed backwards as he tried to avoid Jin's furious, hits. He tried to get a hit in but Jin was angry. Her face was flushed and her eye looked red and strained, as if she was trying desperately not to cry. Zuko struggled to stand up.

"What do you think you're doing? You're hurt stupid!" Jin shrieked as she dodged a fire ball.

"I can handle it—OW!" Zuko groaned as he tried to swing his arms forward.

The captain tried to hit Zuko with a stream of fire, seeing as they were both distracted but Jin immediately caught that and she snapped, blocking him with her swords, "Don't you dare touch him!"

They continued to fight heatedly and when Jin was close to subduing him, he yelled as a last resort, "Grab them! Stop them you idiots!"

Jin stepped back and stood in front of Zuko, swords in an 'X' form, as she stood over him a little protectively. They weren't going to make it. They were going to die….

"Zuko! No!" Jin screeched as he leaped over her and despite the pain, he used whatever energy he had left, to firebend a fire whip. He gave a loud grunt before falling on to his knees as blood gushed out of his arm, the burn looking more grotesque. Jin, barely caring what was happening, ambled towards him and tried to stop the wound.

"Just…go!" Zuko said trying to sound icy.

"But—''

"You don't need me anyway!"

"That's not true—''

"Ow!" Zuko groaned. All around them, everyone tried to recollect themselves as they tried to recover from Zuko's very strong fire whip.

"We have to get you to Katara!" Jin said, her voice cracking as Zuko lay down and groaned.

"Zuko?"

No answer.

"_Zuko?"_

Still no answer. All around them, people started to steer.

"_ZUKO?"_

"What?" I can't concentrate with you yammering like that!" Zuko said half-light heartedly and half-irritatedly.

To his surprise Jin burst out into tears. She leaned forward and gave him a light punch on his arm snapping, "You stupid jerk! I thought you were dead!"

Zuko couldn't help smirking at her as he said, "I thought you didn't care."

Jin blushed, caught her herself and defensively said, "I don't."

"Really? Because it seems like—_Watch out!"_

Jin turned around, and saw a fire ball hurtling towards her when a gust of wind suddenly extinguished it. She looked to the sides and smiled with bitter relief. For there, speeding their direction was Toph and Aang. To her shock, Toph began to metal bend while airbent his way towards them. As soon as they made it pass Zuko, Jin blinked at them in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jin muttered in shock as Aang scurried over to Zuko and helped him up.

"What? No thanks, Smiley?" Toph sarcastically said as Zuko scrambled upwards.

"No…I—I didn't mean it that way—wait. Did you just metal bend?" Jin said suddenly remembering the impressive show Toph put on.

"You'll get there some day Smiley. But for now…let's get out of here!" Toph said as the Firebenders started to press around them. The four of them sped off with Aang trying to desperately move Zuko.

"What happened to Zuko?" Aang asked as he and Zuko narrowly missed a stream of fire.

Jin's voice cracked as she narrated what happened.

"And then…then….then he just looked at me….in…in that sort of way and b-before I knew it….he was trying to hit me with fire. I would've been burned alive or seriously hurt if….if Zuko hadn't saved me!" she said the last part as if she just realized that bit of information.

Zuko groaned, "It wasn't a—''

"You saved me," Jin whispered as she spun around and faced Zuko.

Aang gurgled from under Zuko's weight, "Um Jin? Now's not really the time—''

"I thought you didn't care," Jin murmured.

Behind them, yells were made audible.

"I don't," Zuko said though his voice didn't have that dramatic and curt effect he wanted.

And to everyone's surprise including Zuko, two small and slender hands suddenly touched his shoulder gingerly and before he knew it Jin leaned forward and gave him a soft and quick chaste kiss on the lips. Aang felt ridiculously awkward being in close vicinity with the kissing couple (seeing as he was supporting Zuko).

Jin quickly pulled away as if unsure that what she did was right when Zuko quickly pulled her back in. He missed her. He missed the feel of her lips against his, the taste of her mouth. He kissed her back, more tenderly and softly this time as if trying to get her tatse. He missed her and liked her and Agni help him…he had to stop because a horde of Fire Nation soldiers were after them right now.

Jin broke free, leaned her forehead against Zuko's and murmured remorsefully, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"Forgive me."

Toph interjected, "Um…Smiley? Sparky? Now's really not the time—''

"For what?"

"For never giving you a chance. For holding on to my anger towards you. I'm so sorry, Zuko. I—''

"Look, just don't—''

"I know you're mad. You're mad because….because…I'm just like everyone else who's ever been close to you. I'm no better than your father or your sister," Jin said her voice cracking.

"No, that's not true—''

"Um guys could you wrap it up?" Aang mumbled.

Jin completely ignored them as she continued to babble, "Yes it is. I've labeled you for who you are without giving you a chance to explain yourself. In a way, I betrayed you too….because….because I never gave you a chance—''

"I'm sorry too," Zuko mumbled.

"For what?"

"For lying and betraying you."

"It doesn't matter what you've done in the past. You're here now to help Aang and that's all that matters. I was wrong Zuko. Very wrong," Jin said, as she gave a little sniffle.

"I was always wrong. I've always made wrong decisions—''

"We're aware of that. Can we go now?" Toph impatiently said as the cries became more audible.

"—and I want to give us another shot. Another try. Because I really, really like you. Do you think you could ever forgive me?" Zuko asked. The circumstances were not the best time to give his big "I'm-sorry" speech but somehow, he felt that it was the most appropriate time.

Jin smiled. She knew what she would answer. She had always known what her answer would be. Especially with him.

She gave him a quick, fleeting kiss on the forehead, saying, "There's nothing to forgive."

"Okay! Time out! Smiley back in your corner! You too Sparky! We've got a military camp to escape from!" Toph screeched pushing the two of them apart. Jin sighed but she nodded grudgingly. They began to speed off.

"Hey…Toph," Jin panted as they ran, looking slightly giddy, her face aglow.

"What?" Toph snorted sounding annoyed.

"You never really told me how you guys knew we were here," Jin said, breaking her dreamy, facial expression for awhile.

"…"

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

"We thought you and Zuko had a secret romantic rendezvous, okay? So we thought we'd just follow you and you know….see if our plan actually worked!" Aang blurted.

"You stalked us—wait what plan? I knew it! I knew it! You two did have something planned up!" Zuko accusingly wailed from his place.

Toph snorted and scoffed dismissively, "Oh shut up Sparky. It worked didn't it? And quit pretending that you actually didn't like it. All of us were waiting for you and Jin to get directly to the point."

* * *

_Omifuckingosh. Guys I am so sorry for the super late update but things have been really hectic with my job and semestral finals coming up. I have like five papers to write. But anyways, as you can see, this is where the timeline deviates a little just like I warned you. After this, will be on with the next episode but not to worry...I have more awesome shit in my sleeve. For posting so late...lol...here's an extra-long chpater. Fun fact (but I suppose you don't really care): This is my longest chapter to date reaching. And yes, that's legit, man. _

_But NO i am not abandoning this story. Just expect my updates to be a bit later from now on._

_Thanks to those who have taken there time to read this, who added me as a fav author and added this story in there favorites._

_My heart goes out to all those who reviewed: SkorpionQueen012, Alana C. Jones, SuperninjaX, ArrayePL, tgbwe and Inhibitor._

_Thank you so much! I wish that i could give you more! I would leave you personalized messages as always but as I've said, I'm way too busy. But always know that you guys rock and are awesome._

_Now Anonymous the Third on the other hand, I've got a special message for you mister:_

_Criticisms and a few flames I can handle but when someone accuses me of plagiarism? That never fails to set me off. Dude, i don't mean to rant, but I would never plagiarize another author's work. After reading your review, I took time in actually reading Ashes to Ashes (which is an AWESOME fic by the way) and after reading it, I have no idea how it could be related to my story in anyway. Our plots aren't even the same and neither are our characters. For crying out loud, Jin's personality is different!_

_I began to wonder what ever made you think that. _

_Then I saw that you only reviewed in the 4th chapter._

_And I have only one message for you._

_Keep reading hombre, and you'll see that Ashes to Ashes and Burning Bright are totally different._

_And I would know cause I actually took the time to finish Ashes to Ashes to make sure._

_But anyways, it's all cool. It's good that you're bringing things like that up. i would like to know too if someone's been plagiarizing my work. So thanks, anyway :D_

_And PEACE._

_Don't let my rant bother you._

_Always click the review button._

_:)_


	21. Part XX

**Burning Bright**

_Part XX_

Zuko watched Jin carefully as she eyed him with a calculating stare, a small smirk playing on her lips. His amber eyes gave her the same cold, shrewd look as he took a step back and widened his stance. To his surprise, instead of forming a more solid stance, Jin walked towards him in an easygoing manner, her smirk never leaving her face.

He stared at her, extremely confused and he searched through her expression trying to see if she still wanted to push through with it. He gave her a small nod of question, asking her if she still wanted to continue. She nodded back, looking confident and self-assured.

For some reason, that expression made Jin infuriating. And also extremely _appealing._

Without saying another word, he quickly threw a punch at her left side. Jin gave a small smile, before easily dodging it with a mere step sidewards and a jerk of her shoulder.

Zuko smirked at her and she smiled back daunting him to come closer. Zuko gave a quick shake of his head before taking a quick step forwards and swinging his strong right arm at the top, as he tried to graze Jin through the head. Jin smirked some more as she crouched down and safely spun away into the distance. He knew what she was thinking. Why she was acting so confident. It was because she thought that she wouldn't have it in him to take her seriously. The he wouldn't be able to hurt her. Like the time she and he trained in the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se, once upon a time. Zuko smirked. Well, she was wrong this time. He was doing this as a part of the Avatar's training and as long as the Avatar's training was involved, Zuko had no boundaries when it came to fighting. Even when it came to his girlfriend.

Zuko's brow furrowed and he stared at her with a more serious expression. Jin continued to look on calmly. Zuko somersaulted towards her hoping to land at her back and give her a good attack from her backside. Jin surprised him by vaulting away into the opposite direction, her steps lithe but sure. Zuko landed in a crouch as she stood up, her expression growing more and more mocking and cocky by the minute. Well, Zuko would put her in her place.

Zuko smirked and decided to take a page from Jin's book. He calmly stood up and walked towards her, brushing a lock of his long, shaggy black hair that had gotten in the way of his eyes. He strode towards her with the same confident, self-assured swagger that Jin sported.

Jin merely smiled at him.

Zuko smiled back.

That was beyond annoying.

That girl never failed to get under his skin.

But he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked with the sun setting and the light falling on her hazel-green eyes. Or how ridiculously alluring he found her smirk to be. Or how much she looked so tempting, tempting enough to make him forget about what he was supposed to be teaching Aang and just go up to her to kiss her.

Suddenly, she made a thrust to his right. Zuko's reflexes were the best among the entire group. No one could be more alert than him. Not even Toph or Katara could match his speed and accuracy when it came to blocking attacks. Zuko quickly blocked it with a simple flick of his wrist. Jin stared, a little surprised, but still maintaining her cocky expression. Zuko's eyes glinted.

He swung at her front, hoping to hit her. Jin stepped backwards as she wildly tried to avoid Zuko's swings and hits which were becomingly increasingly fast. He suddenly made a thrust at her top. She backbent and spun around to avoid another hit only to be caught firmly with Zuko's hands.

Zuko stared at her and smiled with victory. He had won now. He frowned a little after a few seconds. She wasn't talking. She still had that calm, smug look on her face. How maddening. And yet it was very charming at the same time.

Before he had time to think through the consequences of his actions, he placed his fingertips on Jin's chin. Jin smirked invitingly and before he knew, Zuko was leaning closer to kiss her.

Jin gave him one last smug smirk before suddenly breaking out of his iron strong grip. She sped past him and Zuko spun around trying to catch her. Before he could react, she had run up against a wall, backflipped, and swung herself towards Zuko. The next thing he knew he was on the ground with Jin sitting smugly on his lap.

She leaned forward and rewarded him with a chaste kiss on his cheek before giggling in his ear, "I win."

Zuko growled at her and gave her one of his famous menacing looks. He frowned, "Not fair."

"Wasn't my fault you broke your own rule, o great Firebending SiFu. _You _were the one who lost focus," Jin murmured as Zuko smirked and leaned forward, his pointed nose brushing against his.

"I _did_ win," Zuko murmured back, his breath growing hot.

"No you didn't. You _almost _won. But I still knocked you down didn't I?" Jin snickered as her forehead pressed against his.

"No one had been able to beat me yet at hand to hand combat you know. Not even Toph," Zuko murmured, his hand brushing a stray lock of Jin's hair.

It was true. When it came to pure hand-to-hand combat, no bending, Zuko had been deemed the best. Even Toph had to concede defeat (a feat which she did not find easy) and Katara had to grudgingly admit that he was better than her (although she kept claiming that it was only by a slight margin). Zuko guessed that all those time he spent in the Earth Kingdom, unable to Firebend lest his secret be revealed, improved his hand-to-hand combat skill and prowess. He was sharper, quicker and his blows were heavier than everyone else.

"So how is it…that you, a girl, who could barely knock me down—''

"I resent that," Jin frowned though she didn't look mad. She didn't deny it though. When it came to who was more agile and who had more strength, Zuko was far more superior than her.

"—be so confident that you would win?" Zuko said as he leaned closer and Jin veered nearer.

Jin shrugged and said as she angled towards him, "I guess I knew that I could distract you with my feminine charms long enough to beat you…."

His eyes went half-lidded and he was about to give her a full on kiss if it weren't for the fact that gagging noises pulsated through the background.

Suddenly remembering that a twelve-year-old (technically Aang was a hundred and twelve but still) was there, Jin and Zuko sprang apart from each other as if scalded. Jin tucked a lock of her stray hair, looking embarrassed while Zuko began to twiddle at his thumbs.

"I wanted to see a good fight. Not _this_," Sokka whined.

Jin looked unaffected as always, her face set in an easygoing smile. Zuko on the other hand started to grow red. He said, leaning forward, "If you don't mind, we were teaching Aang a very important lesson about his bending."

Zuko and Aang were training when Jin returned from her earthbending training with Toph and Sokka came back from another failed hunting expedition. Zuko was trying to teach Aang the merits of hand-to-hand combat, something which he always found particularly useful in Firebending. Aang was failing miserably at this task, often resorting to airbending when he was about to lose so Zuko decided to give him a little demonstration. He would have asked the water tribe boy, if he didn't feel like Sokka hated him. Instead, he asked Jin who was more than willing to oblige.

Sokka who had seen Jin fight a bit more often, was excited knowing that the pair were about to put on a good show.

"Like what? What important lessons could Aang have gotten from _that? _How to properly make out with a girl?" Sokka smirked mockingly as he gestured at Aang who was picking at his eye, looking embarrassed and trying to desperately avoid what Zuko and Jin were demonstrating to him awhile ago.

"Well…I was teaching Aang how to distract the enemy effectively," Jin simply shrugged.

"And I was teaching him about focus," Zuko piped up.

"And I'm teaching Aang how to sneak a kiss to the Fire Lord in a fight," Sokka said in a mocking, high pitched voice.

"Oh, dry up Sokka," Jin snapped, although she didn't look too angry.

"What? I'm starting to think that we should have never gotten you guys back together. Ugh. You are so much worse than when Katara had the hots for Jet," Sokka said as he wrinkled his nose. Jin and Zuko both gave a weak smile, unable to deny Sokka's claim.

It was true. After they made up, they had been a little overly-affectionate with each other. But what could Sokka and all the others expect? They've been through a really rough time. First there was their disastrous first date and first kiss, something which Jin always liked to run through over and over again even though Zuko absolutely detested even mentioning it. Then there was their whole courtship which was awkward and embarrassing and very peculiar. Then there was their whole relationship in general with Zuko's secret of being a Fire Nation prince and with Jin running the Resistance. Accompanied with the whole betrayal thing and Zuko's momentary lapse in better judgment, Zuko would say that he and Jin had a lot of patching up to do.

_And catching up._

Agni knows it's been months since he last saw Jin and he would be lying if he said that he didn't think about her constantly. He had missed her during those times when they were apart. And he was just a man so it was only natural that he missed her kisses. He also knew that it was complicated. Things between him and Jin have always been complicated even on their first date. Although he didn't want o admit it, he was afraid that all it would take was another complication before the two of them got pulled apart from each other again.

He really just wanted to relish the feeling of pure bliss and peace he has had with the Avatar's group. It was days and hours of no complications. Just endless hours of training Aang and spending time with Jin.

Zuko frowned. It can't be helped that Zuko was feeling happier and that he wanted to be more affectionate towards his girlfriend than usual.

Sokka, on the other hand, felt entirely different. He was a little jealous of Zuko and Jin. He was jealous at all the little moments they shared together. He was jealous at them whenever he found them lolling on the grass, Zuko looking carefree and happy, with Jin putting tufts of grass on his chest at his side. He was jealous whenever he saw the two of them kiss. He was jealous whenever he saw Zuko kiss Jin's forehead affectionately or whenever he saw Jin rub Zuko's scar tenderly. It was sickening and exasperating.

It was sickening and exasperating because he wished that he could do all those things with _Suki. _He missed her so much and guilt racked all over him. Was she okay? Did she hate him for not rescuing her? Sokka glumly slumped on his place as Zuko and Aang resumed with their proper firebending training.

It wasn't fair. How come the lord of all jerks, Prince Jerkface, gets the time to make-out and spend lovey-dovey moments with his girlfriend and he can't? He was most certainly better than Zuko ever was, always staying on the side of good. Why did fate have to do this for him?

"Sorry." A light punch suddenly grazed his arm.

He turned to look at Jin who was smiling. She was the happiest she's ever been after she and Zuko made up. Sokka smiled internally. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, getting the two of them to make up. If it made Jin happy, then who was he to complain? But still, it didn't ease the pain and guilt he felt for Suki's absence.

"About what?" Sokka grumbled.

"About me and Zuko back there—''

"Hey it's all cool!" Sokka said raising a hand up though he looked deep in though. Jin frowned. It was very rare when Sokka wasn't in a light-hearted or humorous mood.

"What's up with you?"

"What's up? The sky, the ceiling, the clouds, _the moon_—'' his joking manner disappeared altogether as soon as he mentioned the moon.

"Whoa. You look lower than floor dust," Jin informed him.

Sokka sighed and decided to tell Jin. She was stubborn and determined and he knew it would take a lot more to get rid of her. And besides, he felt the need to tell someone anyway. Sokka just wasn't the kind of person to keep his feelings to himself.

"It's just that—it's just that…." Another loud sigh.

"Just what?" Jin prompted.

"I miss Suki okay!" Sokka blurted out loud. This caused Zuko and Aang to stop, mid-way in a stance they were forming. Sokka sheepishly ducked his head and waved for them to continue.

"Who's Suki?" Jin asked curiously.

"She's um…you know….I mean she used to be….my girlfriend," Sokka sputtered out.

"_Oh_. What happened to er….you and her?" Jin mumbled suddenly looking embarrassed to be asking such an awkward question.

"We didn't break up if that's what you think," Sokka hastily said.

"Oh," Jin said in relief. At least Sokka wasn't about to break out in a sob story about their break-up.

"Yeah. I mean I'm not sure if she can be considered my girlfriend _ye_t but anyway—moving on. She sort of….got captured by Azula," Sokka sighed.

"Aw. That sucks," Jin said as she gave Sokka a pat.

"Don't I know it? I just wish I could spend time with her like you and….you and—''

"Me and Zuko?" Jin finished after realizing that Sokka was afraid to push through with it because he looked embarrassed.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I'm sorry if we're always rubbing it in your face. It's just that….it's been a long time since we've seen each other," Jin apologized, sounding a little sheepish.

"It's okay. It's perfectly understandable. I just wish that there was some way, I could rescue her or…bring her back—''

"Listen Sokka. If there's one thing I realized in life, it's that you shouldn't wait for things to come to you. You get off your butt and go get it yourself," Jin said.

Sokka looked at her.

"Well you are a little assertive," Sokka said.

Jin shrugged and said, "I live with two brothers who just do whatever they want. It rubs off you."

"And then there's my dad…." Sokka sighed, his shoulders sagging even further.

"He'll be okay."

"I doubt it."

"Then if you want your dad back, _get_ him back," Jin said.

And just like that he had an idea. His eyes darted from Jin to Zuko, then back to Jin again. Finally he leaped at her, gave her a mighty bear hug and said, "Thanks, Jin!"

He then jumped up and bounded off enthusiastically.

Zuko stopped in mid-stance and said incredulously, "What's up with him?"

Jin shrugged and said, sounding a little confused, "I don't know. But I think I just gave him a good advice…."

* * *

"I'm so curious…" Jin began as she began to balance and see-saw on a small row of rocks at a precipice.

"Curious about what?—and stop that! You could get hurt," Zuko barked as he laid back, his back leaning against a rock. The two of them were lounging about in another pagoda, with a stunning view of the sunset and other parts of the western air temple overlooking them. The others were all probably ringed around the campfire now, having a merry, good time. Katara would have been preparing a nice good dinner made out of peas and beef. Aang, Toph and Sokka would be joking around, Haru talking with the Duke and Teo messing around with his inventions.

Zuko sighed sadly and he knew that a part of Jin–though she was perfectly happy with him—wanted to be with all her friends but sadly that was easier said than done.

Zuko was still regarded mostly with suspicion and hatred among most of the members of Team Avatar. Not all, save perhaps for Sokka, Aang and Toph, approved of Jin and Zuko's reunion and Jin, he was sorry to say, was receiving lots of flack for even being near him. Zuko was beginning to feel guilty because he felt that he was the cause of all the tension in this camp. They often hung out apart from everyone else as a result of this tension.

They also ate apart from everybody else, mostly for the sole reason that many still disliked Zuko and was uneasy with him. Haru, after Jin and Zuko made up, had taken to great loathing towards Zuko and he never failed to produce subtle jests and snipes towards the Fire Nation Prince when they were in one room together. Katara on the other hand refused to let up on her vendetta against Zuko while Sokka remained indifferent save for the few teases and mocking comments he rolled out. The Duke and Teo seem to regard him with fear while Toph and Aang were mostly amiable towards him and they weren't as suspicious.

As a result, dinners and life in general with the Team Avatar was relatively quiet. Jin often brought him food and together they would sit in their small nook with Appa and talk and catch up on what they missed in each other's life during their months apart. Jin seemed to be particularly interested in hearing about this Mai persona, someone who Zuko often mentioned.

Zuko would notice that Jin would wrinkle her nose a little bit at the mention of Mai and it took him a great deal before he realized that Jin was feeling slightly jealous. He thought it was rather cute and he would have liked to see Jin and what sort of shenanigans she would put herself into out of jealousy. He was disappointed however, that aside from the occasional curdling of her expression at the mention of Mai, she really didn't do much nor did she bother or pester him constantly about her for Jin was never really jealous sort of person to begin with. She was very patient and even-tempered and not as overly-suspicious as Zuko was.

Zuko on the other hand, was very suspicious and he often made a fool of himself in front of that Water Tribe boy. He noticed that Jin and Sokka seemed to be particularly close and they had lots of inside jokes. He was starting to feel a little left out and he began to make crazy theories, many of which were about Jin and the Water Tribe boy together. Jin however, told him not to be too bothered with it because they were just good friends and that Sokka had a certain special someone waiting for him in his _sister's_ prison cell. That shut Zuko up quickly enough and he didn't mention anything more about Sokka and Jin's buddy-buddy relationship for fear that Jin would bring up the Fire Nation and Azula again. Those were very sensitive topics for the two of them, for though things had gone on well enough between them, there were still small undercurrents of resentment and anger that was never fully resolved for both parts.

"I'm so curious…" Jin said again as she began to skip along the edge now.

"About what? And _seriously_! Stop that!" Zuko cried, afraid and nervous that Jin might fall and plunge dangerously downwards.

Jin however was very graceful and she kept her balance relatively well.

"About what your life was like. Before you…er…_left_...," Jin continued.

"You know what my life was like. It sucks," Zuko shortly answered refusing to go into the details.

Jin however would not be fazed. She continued, "No, I don't. After the whole incident with you betraying me and all—''

"Ugh."

"What? I'm over that now. It's nothing but a faint memory to me—''

"But still—''

"I thought we agreed to get past that."

"Jin…that's not something which you can easily get past through…it's a bit more complicated—''

"_It's complicated_. There it goes again."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who's making things so…so…so…-''

"Complicated?" Jin smirked as Zuko lost his patience.

"Ugh! You are so infuriating—and how many times do I have to tell you? Don't do that! You could fall!"

"I try," Jin shrugged as she continued to walked at the edge spreading her arms out and balancing, completely disregarding Zuko's warning.

"Fine! But if you fall don't go blaming me—''

"And don't try to change the topic mister. I wanna ask you stuff," Jin said sounding eager and enthusiastic.

"About what? My life before I was banished wasn't very interesting," Zuko grumped as he folded his arms. His banishment was also another touchy topic for him.

"But I just want to know!" Jin whined as she hopped off the ledge. She was pouting now. Zuko frowned. Why does she have to do that? She knows he could never resist her when she does that.

"Okay…fine….."

"Promise you'll be truthful?" Jin asked as she plucked a flower, growing in between the cracks of the pagoda.

"No more lies," Zuko promised.

The barrage of questions then began and Zuko was sorely wishing that he had never agreed to this.

"What's the palace like?" Jin began as she twisted the flower in her palm.

"You've seen it," Zuko said referring to the time when she participated in the invasion.

"But I mean what's it like inside?"

"Just like any regular palace. Fancy and big," Zuko shrugged.

"Did you have your own room?"

"Of course."

"Was it big?"

"Yep. Bigger than both of our apartments in Ba Sing Se put together," Zuko said, smiling as he remembered Ba Sing Se. Those were happy times.

"I loved your apartment," Jin softly said.

"Yeah, me too," Zuko sadly said after realizing that perhaps the tea shop and their apartment was reduced to nothing but rubble by now.

Jin asked, "Did you have any servants?"

"Of course."

Jin's face screwed up and she started to frown.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zuko asked bewildered.

"I don't approve of slavery."

"It's not my fault we have slaves!"

"I think you should abolish slavery once you become fire lord," Jin informed him.

"That is _if _I become Fire Lord," Zuko in a somewhat bitter manner.

"How many servants do you have?" Jin said,deciding that it was now time to move on from Zuko's apparent dislike of the topic.

"Close to five hundred."

"Whoa. You have five hundred servants?"

"Yes. We needed them for lots of things. Holding the palanquin, cooks, cleaners, nursemaids, gardeners, errand boys, scullery maids, Azula's hairdressers, laundrymen—''

"Don't you get annoyed with all those servants milling in and out?"

"Yes, I do. But you get used to it," Zuko said after a long silent musing.

"Did you go to school?"

"Yes…but when I turned thirteen I had a private tutor," Zuko said.

"Why?"

"Because I was the crown prince," Zuko said as he looked back at all those days where life was so much easier for him.

"And so?"

"_So,_ I had to be taught other things that other boys didn't have to learn about."

"Like what?"

"Like..ugh…I had to memorize the fire Nation law book, war tactics, economy, tax accounting and leadership….to you know…prepare me as a leader," Zuko said.

"What did you do when you had free time?"

"I trained some more."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Whoa. You _really_ are boring."

"Ugh!"

By then Jin had stopped toying with her flower and she was now edging towards him. Zuko smiled at her as she sat down about a meter's length across him.

"Did you have any friends?" she inquired.

"Not as much as I would've like. As the crown prince I was taught not to trust other people so much. They might try to get the crown," Zuko said.

"No wonder you have trust issues," Jin giggled.

"I do not!" Zuko protested defensively.

"You have a very fun life Zuko," Jin sarcastically said.

A short silence followed.

"Did you…did you have any girlfriends?" Jin asked slyly as she leaned forward. Zuko groaned. He should've known what this was all about.

"No. I didn't think I needed to find a girlfriend. Arranged marriages were very popular," Zuko murmured as he pulled Jin closer unto his lap. She gave a little giggle before pressing her forehead into his.

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly her breath pulsating through his face.

"Prince's honor," Zuko said as he gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"You seem to talk about this…this…Mai girl a lot," Jin finally interjected breaking their playful disposition.

It took awhile before Zuko could foster a reaction. Finally he snickered and said in a husky voice as his fingers skimmed under her ribs and he began to tickle her, "_You're jealous."_

"I'm not—and stop that!" Jin protested defensively though her expression said otherwise. She began to break out in giggles as Zuko continued to tickle her.

"You don't have to be jealous," Zuko said as soon as he stopped tickling her.

"I told you I'm _not."_

"Me and Mai are just good friends. She helped me out a lot."

"That's good," Jin said though she was frowning.

"If it weren't for her help, I'd never have gotten here," Zuko tried to point out. This wasn't exactly true, seeing as Mai or Azula or Ty Lee or anyone else in general didn't know about his desertion. But it was great fun seeing Jin looking so miffed and apprehensive over a girl she has never seen or barely known.

"What kind of _help_?" Jin asked suspiciously.

"I never pegged you for the jealous type of girl," Zuko chuckled.

_"I am not!_" Jin persistently protested.

Zuko leaned forward and kissed her and because of that kiss he made sure that Jin never doubted him again. Because it was true, even when he was back at the palace, he still thought about her and he still liked her and he could never imagine even forgetting about her. Zuko began to lean back as their kiss grew deeper until it reached such a time he was laying flat on the floor with Jin on top of him.

Jin kissed his nose as soon as he let go and after a moment of silence, she said, "I was thinking…"

"What?" Zuko asked gruffly. He knew that whatever she had to say was not going to be good, because she was using that patronizing voice of hers and she was widening her eyes, a sure sign that she wanted him to do something which he would dislike later on.

"…that we eat with the others tonight," Jin said as she tried to give a smile to Zuko.

"What? Are you crazy? They hate me!" Zuko frowned, looking a little worried as he sat up right. Jin leaned back.

"Which is exactly why we need to eat with them tonight," Jin said her voice starting to sound insistent.

Zuko sighed loudly.

He wasn't going to win this.

"Are you serious? Jin, nobody in there could even stand the sight of me. Katara would kill me once I step within even twenty-mile radius from her," Zuko frowned as he looked away and started to go into one of his brooding moods. Jin gave a small giggle and stood up, away from his lap and sat next to him. Zuko put an arm around her as she leaned against his shoulder.

"Glad you think this is funny," Zuko muttered as Jin sighed and began to tousle his hair.

"I just want all of you guys to be friends," Jin frowned as Zuko's body stopped tensing up.

"I _want_ to be friends with everybody too. Problem is…._no one_ wants to be my friend," Zuko said sounding miserable.

"That's not true," Jin defensively said.

"What made you want me to be friends with the others anyway?"

"I don't know….it's just that….it sucks that they always exclude you. I mean, they're not doing it on purpose. It's just sort of….they're just sort of acting on instinct you know. I mean you did chase them half-way around the world—''

"Thanks for reminding me."

Jin scowled at him and said, sounding a little peevish, "I just want you to be part of this family. I just want them to trust you…like how _I _trust you."

"And look how that turned out for you," Zuko laughed sounding bitter as he referred to the time he betrayed her. He had never truly gotten over the fact that he had hurt Jin and that he had done something to betray her trust. Jin often assures him that she is over that now, but still, it could barely erase the uncomfortable air or tension that would arise out of the slightest mention of Zuko's past mistakes.

"I thought we were past that," Jin frowned.

"We are."

"Then why keep bringing it up?"

"I'm not bringing it up."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

"You just did."

"I did no such thing."

"But you did. Just moments ago," Jin persisted.

"What? I was having a moment of melancholy."

"Why do you always have to get so angsty?"

"I don't!" Zuko loudly protested as he spun around. They were bickering again.

"Yes you do. But anyway, I suppose that's what I get for asking a guy out who just left me in the fountain saying, 'It's complicated'—''

"Ugh!" Zuko scowled. Jin smirked knowing how the subject of their first date was always something Zuko found embarrassing.

"I'm not mad, anymore you know. I mean I was before. But I realized I could never stay mad at you for long. I guess you just seem to have this effect on me," Jin snickered as Zuko's incensed expression started easing out.

"Really? Maybe I should put my charming self into good use when I fight with you," Zuko said playfully.

"No. You still wouldn't win. You like me too much," Jin giggled.

"Don't get too cocky."

"Whatever you say, Sifu Hotman."

"Ugh! Stop calling me that!"

"So, how about it? Wanna give eating with the others a try?" Jin asked excitedly.

"No."

"_Zuko!"_

"No, _Jin."_

"_Please."_

"It will never work. They'll probably think that I'd poison their food," Zuko said as he gave a mirthless laughter.

"But…but—''

"And besides…I'm horrible at socializing. I can't make friends with someone else without saying something awkward or making a fool of myself," Zuko said as he spread his right arm out and pulled Jin closer.

"I think you already know that judging from our first date," Zuko teasingly said as he sneaked a kiss unto her cheek. Jin gave a small snicker before leaning on his chest.

"But can you please just try? For me?" Jin asked him.

"Jin…"

"Come on Zuko!"

"I don't know how to break the tension that comes up whenever I show up," Zuko grumbled.

Jin sat silently in her place for awhile musing and thinking through about how she might be able to help Zuko break the ice.

"Jokes!"

"What?"

"You could tell jokes."

"That's a horrible idea."

"Why not? Everyone loves jokes," Jin frowned as Zuko snaked a hand up her waist.

"I don't know if you've realized this but….I'm horrible with jokes. I'm extremely unfunny," Zuko chuckled.

"You've lived with your uncle for most of your life and not once has his humor rubbed off you?" Jin demanded sounding incensed.

"His jokes were much worse."

"Zuko!"

"What?"

"I know a joke!"

"Ugh."

"Remember all those tea jokes you're uncle used to tell?"

"Oh no. Not _those."_

"Remembering your uncle's tea joke! You could tell that!"

"Ugh! The one about a bush?"

"Yes!"

"That joke sucks."

"Says you,Mr. Unfunny ," Jin snickered.

Zuko frowned at her and said, "How am I supposed to sneak that joke in, huh? Should I just blurt it outright?"

"I know! You could serve some tea….say a little about your uncle….then say that you're uncle had lots of jokes…..say you know one—''

"This will never work—''

"And there! You could say the joke and everyone would laugh and they would all think that you're a really, funny, cool guy—''

"Me? A funny and 'cool' guy—''

"And then everyone would like you!" Jin finished looking ridiculously pleased with herself. Zuko scowled at her enthusiastic expression and shook his head and made it clear that he most definitely did not want himself to get into something as stupid or as ridiculous as this.

Jin however was completely enamored with her idea and very little Zuko could say could make her change her mind.

Finally, after a few more minutes of bickering, Zuko finally gave in and said with a loud, disgruntled smile, "Fine! I'll do it. I'll go and make _friends!"_

"Come on Zuko. Stop looking like that," Jin frowned.

"Looking like what?"

"Looking like you've just eaten moldy cheese."

"What you are about to make me do is worse than making me eat moldy cheese—''

"You over exaggerate!"

"And _you_ are full of stupid ideas—''

"I resent that—''

"It's true—''

"It will be good for you! I promise, Li—" Jin said and as soon as she said Li, she paused, her face whitened and she looked like a person who was caught saying something that she shouldn't have said.

She hazarded a glance at Zuko and saw that he was looking into the distance, his face blank and drawn. Jin had gotten used to calling Zuko as "Zuko" by now but there were rare and fleeting moments in which she would forget herself and say Li by accident. She was always careful not to make this known to Zuko and she often succeeded in doing so up until this very moment.

A terrible silence ensued and after a few minutes of emptiness, Jin leaned on his shoulder, tousled his hair, and said softly and remorsefully, "I'm sorry. I forgot."

Zuko said nothing but a quiet, "Okay."

Another round of silence ensued and after a little while, Zuko said in a quiet voice, "I have a question for you..."

"Hm?"

"Do you want to call me Zuko or Li?" he asked, his voice sounding strangled.

Jin would have liked to answer Li if she was going to be honest. She would have liked to say Li because Li was the boy she had known, the boy she had grown to like and perhaps grown to love, the boy whom she was familiar with, the boy whom she knew very well. Zuko was someone who she still didn't understand very well yet. Li was an ordinary boy with a very uncomplicated past while Zuko was complex person who's been through so much more than any regular teenager deserved to go through. She was very sad to admit, that she wasn't very familiar with Zuko yet. That she wasn't sure what his real personality or what his past was truly like. That she still didn't know who she truly was. But her feelings for him remain the same. She still likes him and perhaps even loves him despite not knowing much about him. Despite treading on unfamiliar ground.

Jin had always known what her answer was going to be.

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before saying softly, "Zuko. I want to call you Zuko."

* * *

"What are you doing here? Don't you usually eat with your _boyfriend?"_ Katara said, putting as much acid as she could into the word "boyfriend". Out everyone in the camp, it was Katara, who perhaps, disliked the idea of Zuko and Jin together the most. She regarded herself as one of Jin's closest friends and she felt that it was her duty to save Jin from the impending disaster that was about to happen if she continued to see Zuko.

"We decided to eat with you guys tonight," Jin said cheerfully, completely unaware of the murderous glares Katara was sending at Zuko. Zuko who was standing next to Jin cringed and began to twiddle his thumbs. Toph and Aang who had come back from their earthbending training looked up with mild interest along with Haru, the Duke and Teo. Sokka continued to look off into the distance, looking deep in thought.

"If…that's okay with you," Zuko hastily added.

Jin stared at him in annoyed fashion but her expression could not equal Katara's.

"Of course it would be okay for them. Why would you even bother to ask that?" Jin edgily said as she gave a small jab at Zuko's side. Zuko narrowed his eyes at her and gave a loud grunt and gave her another jab in return.

Katara however said in an amiable tone, "Sure. Why should it not be okay for us? I mean you are part of the group already. I mean, I don't like the idea of you being Aang's teacher but there's hardly a thing I could do about it—''

"Why don't you prepare the tea cups Zuko while we all wait for dinner to get started?" Jin edgily said through gritted teeth.

"No, it's okay Jin. You two just wait here. I've already brewed some tea right here. I'm almost done with the stew so I'm sure I could get the tea as soon as I'm finished," Katara stated as she stirred the thick broth.

"But we don't want you to worry anymore Katara. Zuko would love to get you some tea," Jin said as she smiled wide.

Katara raised her head and protested, "But—''

Zuko stared at her blankly. Jin gave him a jab of his elbow to his side and said once again, "Zuko…the _tea_…."

"Huh?" Zuko said as he raised a brow at her.

Jin gave a loud sigh and gave him a pointed look before mouthing "joke". Zuko, after finally realizing what Jin was talking about, quickly nodded before giving a garbled excuse and ducking out into the back portion of the pagoda where all the supplies and teacups were stacked. He was feeling slightly nervous by now. Agni knows that telling a joke was such a little thing compared to everything he's been through. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that this was a do-or-die situation and if he screws this up he could embarrass himself to a staggering degree.

Jin gave a small smile before taking her place next to Katara whose expression had softened.

"Don't worry. I won't be hard on him," Katara said after a moment of seeing Jin's expression.

Jin gave a small giggle and said, "I certainly hope so."

"I'm not _that _horrible. I'm all about second chances," Katara said though her expression said otherwise and she was stabbing her potatoes and beef with much more vigor.

"Come on Katara. He's not that bad once you get to know him," Jin said in a pleading voice.

Katara sighed and said, "I have nothing against him, Jin. _Really._ It's just that….you're one of my friends and I just want you to be careful—''

"Come on Sugar Queen. Lighten up. Sparky isn't as horrible as you say he is," Toph piped up.

"I didn't say that," Katara said defensively.

"Well you don't need to say anything. Your expression says it all," Toph pointed out.

"I'm just trying to say that maybe we shouldn't take so much chances—''

"First of all, it's Twinkletoes' business on whether Sparky and—''

"Umm guys…." Aang began after realizing that a fight between Katara and Toph was about to escalate yet again. Katara was stirring the stew much more violently while Toph had already straightened her position.

"Jin's a grown woman. She can take care of herself," Toph declared. Jin opened her mouth trying to butt in but Katara cut her off once again.

Katara wrinkled her nose and spat, "I'm not telling her to do anything! I'm merely _advising_ her—''

Suddenly a gust of air barreled throughout the whole campfire, making everyone lose their balance and nearly snuffing the fire out. Katara, through the curtains of her windblown hair, glared at the culprit who was Aang. Aang stared at her sheepishly and said, "What? I needed to catch your attention."

"You didn't need to blow me all the way to kingdom come to do that!" Katara said irritably, her mood now completely sour after all the fighting with Toph.

"If you were paying attention, Jin was trying to say something," Aang said as he jerked a thumb at Jin.

Everyone turned their attention to Jin who was giving a sort of sheepish smile. She looked at Katara and said, "I know what I'm doing Katara. _Honest._ Zuko's _changed."_

"I've heard that song before," Katara snorted. She gave a little jolt as Toph jabbed her with a stick.

"He's really trying his best you know. So if you could just be nice to him, talk to him a little, _laugh_ at his jokes maybe…." Jin said, her voice almost sounding pleading.

Aang was the first to agree saying enthusiastically, "Of course Jin! No problem! I'd be happy to make friends with Zuko."

"Yeah…me too. But not after I get back at him for burning my feet though," Toph said.

Teo and the Duke chorused responses while Haru sulkily agreed. Sokka, after some time, finally snapped out of his absentmindedness and said, "Hmmm Zuko? Yeah, sure."

Only Katara was left and she seemed to be mulling it over. She didn't seem t be finished thinking about it anytime soon when they heard the steady footsteps of Zuko. Everyone looked up and saw that he was coming towards them, bringing a tray full of teacups looking slightly nervous. Jin gave him a re-assuring smile before giving another pleading one to Katara.

Katara sighed, finally relenting. She mumbled, "Whatever. I'll be _nice_ to him."

Zuko crouched down and started to fill the empty cups with some tea Katara had brewed. He seemed to be dying to say something but for some reason, every time he opened his mouth to say something, he would clam up. Finally, after Jin gave a comforting touch on his knee, Zuko said trying to sound light-hearted, "No one can make tea like Uncle."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"But hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke ?" Zuko asked as he smiled.

"Sure," Katara said to the complete surprise of everyone. Jin beamed at her and Katara gave Jin a small wink. Zuko sighed, a little annoyed. Doubtless Jin put her up to this. How pathetic was that? He still needed his girlfriend's help so he can make friends.

"I like jokes," Aang declared.

"Bring it," Toph said.

Zuko cut between the Duke and Haru and offered them tea. Haru in a surly manner got one cup as Zuko said, "Okay. Well, I can't remember how it starts but the punch line is… 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed.'"

Jin groaned and slapped her forehead as soon as Zuko finished telling the joke. He doesn't remember the whole joke? She gave him a look and Zuko gave her a sheepish shrug.

"Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it," Zuko said as he offered a cup to Katara.

"Right. Maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing," Katara said as she grabbed a cup.

Aang started to laugh and soon the whole group was enveloped in mirth. Jin and Zuko relaxed a little and Zuko, who was starting to feel very shabby, eased his tension a little. He scrambled over to Jin's side and put an arm around her.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens," Toph said as everyone started to drink their tea.

Suddenly, Sokka, who was up until now, busy thinking by himself, stood up and said, addressing Zuko, "Hey, can I talk to you for a second ?"

Everyone stared at Sokka in surprise, including Zuko. Sokka quickly stood up and walked away to where Appa was lodged. Zuko after a few minutes quickly followed. As soon as the two boys were out of the way Toph whistled, "What's up with Sokka? He's been acting weird."

"And he's talking to Zuko of all people," Aang said.

"It's probably just a man thing," Jin shrugged. Everyone chorused agreements.

"So….how did I do Jin?" Katara asked wryly as she raised a brow.

Jin pretended to have a look of judging before breaking into a wide smile and saying, "You were very _nice."_

* * *

It was in the middle of the night and the moon was hidden behind the clouds. It provided Zuko with very little light to go by but he didn't mind so much because he was already used to going about in the dark from his excursions as the Blue Spirit. Everyone was asleep by now and being very skilled in stealth he managed to scramble past everyone without waking them up. He felt ridiculous for doing this. The Water Tribe boy didn't even like him. But how could he let Sokka do this on his own? He had no idea what he was up against. And besides, Jin wanted him to make friends and this was a perfect way for him to make friends.

"Zuko?"

He paused, worried that it might be Katara or Toph.

"Zuko? What are you doing here?"

The voice was soft and feminine and barely a whisper.

Zuko spun around and gritted his teeth, thinking it was Katara. He was relieved however to find that it was just Jin. She looked a little groggy and pale. She was wearing a small white tunic and her newly repaired white leggings. The tunic was loose and it swayed against the wind leaving Zuko with a small hint of her stomach.

"Something's up," Zuko sighed, deciding that the truth was better. After the whole Ba Sing Se fiasco, he was pretty much sick of lies.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked worriedly. Zuko and Sokka had disappeared from the campfire in the middle of their dinner and they had returned looking absentminded. Zuko seemed like he was deep in thought as the night progressed and before they went to bed, he only gave Jin a small kiss on the cheek before bounding off to his room.

"It's nothing…it's just….I think Sokka's going to do something stupid," Zuko mumbled.

"Huh? Does it have anything to do with what he told you during dinner?" Jin asked.

Zuko nodded and said, "A little" though he was really busy hearing out for Sokka. He could hear Sokka's loud and clumsy footsteps from the corner and he knew he didn't have much time.

"Look, I don't have time to explain. All I know is, I think he'll take Appa and go somewhere and get himself killed. I have to make sure he doesn't do something dumb," Zuko said as he placed both his hands on Jin's shoulders.

"Sounds serious. Do you want me to come with you?" Jin hastily said.

"No. You just stay here," Zuko as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"You're no fun," Jin pouted.

"Trust me. It'd be better if you're here. And besides you wanted me to make friends…so I'm making friends!" Zuko smirked at her as he made circles on her hips.

"Are you sure you should be going into this alone?" Jin asked, looking unamused.

"First of all, I'm not alone. Sokka's with me. Secondly, it'd be better if there were less of us. To avoid attracting attention," Zuko said. He heard the loud thud of an object falling and he knew Sokka must be close.

"You still haven't told me where you're going," Jin sighed.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing up this late," Zuko impishly said.

Jin looked serious for a moment and a silence followed. After awhile she said, "I had a nightmare. I couldn't sleep and I heard some noise—''

"That would be Sokka by the way—''

"—so I went to get a drink of water. And I found you here. So now, will you tell me where you're going?" Jin asked.

Jin jumped up when she heard the sound of someone scuttling near Appa's corner. Zuko suddenly leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on her lips before turning around and saying, "No more time. Gotta go. I'll explain when we get back."

Jin bit her lip and yelled, "Be safe!" as Zuko disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Zuko began to feel awkward. He had successfully convinced the Water Tribe Boy despite Sokka's suspicions and reservations to bring him along and to take his hot air balloon. Brining Appa along would be very impractical considering the fact that they had no idea where to put him once they got there. Sokka suggested that they could just leave Appa in a glade somewhere and then he would swim to the island. Zuko however, quickly pointed out that it would be impossible since the Boiling Rock was surrounded with water that was…well, _boiling._

So far they had journeyed in silence and it was very uncomfortable considering that they had already travelled a great deal and they were already well into midday. They had travelled through the night and Zuko estimated that it wouldn't take long before they would arrive. He was trying desperately to think of something to say but he always found himself saying nothing. He had no idea what was apt to talk with the water Tribe boy about and Sokka, likewise had no idea what to talk about with Zuko. Sokka thought that perhaps he shouldn't talk at all, not at least, until they've arrived but the awkward silence for him was beyond unbearable.

Finally, he looked up and said, "Pretty clouds."

Zuko, a little startled at the noise looked up and muttered, "Yeah. Fluffy."

Silence.

"…"

"…"

A whispered sliced through the silence.

Zuko quickly turned to Sokka, who was the cause of the whistle and said, "What?"

"What? Oh, I didn't say anything," Sokka hastily said as Zuko gave him a searching look.

After another bout of silence Sokka added, feeling that if there was going to be any sort of conversation that was going to happen, he would have to carry most of it, "You know a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."

"No kidding," Zuko said as he cracked a smile.

"Yep. A balloon. But for War," Sokka said.

"There's one thing my Dad's good at…_war_," Zuko sighed as he turned to the tank and firebent more heat into it.

"Yeah, it seems to run in the family," Sokka nonchalantly said.

"Hey, hold on. Not everyone in my family is like that," Zuko said sounding slightly defensive.

"I know, I know, you've changed," Sokka quickly said to abate the small slip of the tongue he had made.

"I meant my Uncle. He was more of a Father to me. And I really let him down," Zuko sadly said as he looked off into the distance.

"I think your Uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us, that's hard," Sokka empathically said.

"It wasn't that hard," Zuko chuckled as his lips formed the barest of smiles.

"Really ? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about ?" Sokka asked as he leaned back and stared at the clouds. The sun was high up in the sky right now and he was starting to feel a little cramped and sticky. He knew that it was still a little bit of a long way before they got to the Boiling Rock and a conversation was perfect way for him to feel distracted from the heat and the altitude.

Zuko seemed to be mulling it over. Finally he said, "Not really. I mean I left some of my friends—''

"You had friends?" Sokka snickered. He could not help setting off Zuko's temper just a little bit.

"_Yes._ As hard that is to believe," Zuko grumpily said, clearly miffed.

Sokka quickly held his hands up in defense and said trying to abate Zuko's anger, "Hey, hey. Peace. I was just messing with you."

Another round of silence ensued and after a few minutes, when Zuko had cooled his temper, he continued, "I mean I left my friends behind but other than that…there wasn't really much in the Fire Nation that would make me want to stay. All that's left for me was my crown which I don't have anymore by the way, Azula and my dad—''

"I can see why you left—''

"—and the war in general. I don't know. Jin…and of course my new realizations that you know the Avatar was really on the side of good and all…kind of made me want to leave. There was nothing left for me in the Fire Nation. There was no one left for me in the Fire Nation that made me_ want_ to stay It's like….it's kind of the other way around. There's _someone_ with you guys who made me want to leave," Zuko mumbled, his lips starting to form a small smile.

"Oh, yeah. You and Jin huh?" Sokka said.

"Yeah. We're still working out the kinks in our relationship though. Especially after I…um—''

"Betrayed her, made her look stupid and completely destroyed Ba Sing Se?" Sokka offered with a hint of his famous sarcasm.

Zuko sheepishly looked away and said, "Right."

"But still, I was pretty shocked when I found out that you and Jin were dating. I mean don't get me wrong—''

Zuko wrinkled his nose and glared at Sokka.

"—but, I mean she doesn't seem like your type," Sokka finished.

"Yeah. We get that a lot," Zuko mumbled completely aware of how different their personalities were.

"So how did you two meet? I never really quite got the hang of that," Sokka said curiously.

"We met in the teashop."

"What teashop?"

"The teashop where me and my uncle worked in," Zuko said as he started to feel embarrassed.

"You worked in a teashop?" Sokka snickered.

"Money was tight, okay?"

"But still…a teashop?"

"Don't rub it in."

"So what was she? She worked with you…" Sokka said feeling that the conversation had lost all its awkwardness at last. Zuko was now talking to Sokka amiably and he didn't feel anymore apprehension. He was beginning to grow comfortable with talking with the Water tribe Boy and he quite enjoyed it seeing as it helped pass the time.

"Um, no. She was a customer," Zuko said starting to feel nervous at where this conversation was heading.

"Oho. Flirting with customer, I see?" Sokka said impishly as he gave a jab at Zuko's side.

"Um…" Zuko was severely embarrassed to inform Sokka that it was Jin who asked him out first. He would never live it down if Sokka, who was very well known among their little group for being charming around girls, found out that a girl had to ask him out because he was too stupid to realize that Jin had a crush on him. After a few minutes of discomfort, he mumbled, "Yeah…I guess so…"

"So you asked her out?"

"Um yeah…I thought she was attractive and I decided that I liked her so I went for it and asked her out—hey! Why are we talking about me? Why can't we talk about you and your girlfriend?" Zuko demanded wishing for the topic to divert from its course.

Sokka's shoulders sagged, he looked at the sky and he sighed, "My first girlfriend turned into the Moon."

Zuko suddenly feeling very ridiculous and stupid for bringing that up and finding nothing left to say, twiddled his thumbs, looked up the sky with Sokka and muttered, "That's rough, buddy."

* * *

Zuko mopped the floor feeling extremely nervous. They've been in the Boiling Rock for quite some time and so far, it was one disaster after another. Their hot air balloon was broken so now they had the added problem of figuring out how to get back. They had stolen disguises but even that part of their plan was falling apart considering the fact that Zuko was arousing way more suspicion than he had intended to do. He had been found out by the Warden (who was the Mai's uncle and who began yammering to him about Mai for some reason) and now he was one of the prisoners. He could still see Sokka though, but that made things all the more difficult. And they still haven't found Sokka's dad. He suddenly had the irrational wish that Jin was here but then he quickly snapped out of it after realizing that she wouldn't be much help and she would probably be just in more danger.

The girl mopping the floor beside him looked familiar though he couldn't figure out where he saw her. He guessed that Sokka must have been acquainted with her considering the fact that their little reunion was the cause of why he was being found out in the first place.

"Oh, good. You guys have met," Sokka said as he hurried towards them and crossed his arms pretending to look like a domineering guard.

"A…actually, we met a long time ago," Suki said as she stole a look at Zuko.

Zuko paused from his work and looked at her in surprise, "We did?"

"Yeah, you kind of burned down my village," Suki said sounding slightly angry. Sokka shook his head from his place and smirked with an expression that clearly said "You shouldn't have done that."

Zuko looked up and thought about it for awhile before saying, "Oh. Sorry about that. Nice to see you again."

After all their work was finished, they put their mops against the wall and sat down. Sokka looked around his surroundings for awhile and finding no one suspicious he quickly joined them and said as soon as he sat down, "So listen, I think I have an escape plan…."

Suki and Zuko sat up a little straighter.

"I checked out the Coolers again, the whole point of them is to keep firebenders contained right ?" he said directing the question at Zuko.

"Yeah..." Zuko nodded.

"So they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well to keep the cold in it also has to keep the heat out, right ?" Sokka said his voice growing fervor. He started to look excited.

"Just get to the point Sokka," Suki impatiently said.

"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water," Sokka said as he began to make fluid gestures that symbolized water.

"The cooler as a boat . Are you sure ?" Zuko asked as soon as he and Suki exchanged skeptical looks.

"I'm telling you, it'll work," Sokka insistently said.

"I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing, bang, boom we're home free," Sokka narrated as he rubbed his hands together anxiously.

Suki still looked skeptical while Zuko started to warm up to the idea. She leaned forward and she was about to say something when gruff but cool voice said, "The plan is remarkable really. But how are you going to get the cooler out ?"

The three of them jumped and looked up and was surprised to see two men towering over them. Zuko had already noticed the one who stood at the right beforehand. His name was Chit Sang and he was Fire Nation native though he was one unruly troublemaker. Zuko had often seen Chit Sang get into fights with the guard and he had been in the cooler far too many times.

The one next to him though was someone he didn't know but at the same time he looked eerily familiar.

He was very tall, his height possibly reaching to a staggering six foot eight and he was also someone who was very muscular, his arms ripe with sinews. He had a proud, handsome face though he looked very grim and his expression gave off a sense of nobility. He was around the same age as his father though he looked more weather-beaten with his long unruly hair that was fashioned with a small top-knot and the dryness and of his skin. He was obviously an Earth Kingdom native since his eyes were the deepest color of green and they were piercing and wide and Zuko, Sokka and Suki felt that he was searching through the very insides of them. His nose looked crooked as if it had been broken before and now it was slowly healing and his thick arms and legs were covered with a mass of ugly scars. Despite his generally shabby appearance Zuko felt that he must have been some great Earth Kingdom king in his time and that he was full of majesty and his was of noble blood.

Zuko started to feel uncomfortable because the man was staring at him with an angry expression.

"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out ?" Chit Sang said after awhile. The man next to him nodded grimly. The two of them then sailed over the railing from where they were standing from and landed in front of the three teenagers.

"What? We didn't. We… We didn't say that," Sokka hastily said as he began to make various gestures.

"Yeah, you heard wrong," Zuko quickly said as he wrung his hands nervously.

"I heard you hatching an escape plan and me and Shangdi want in," Chit Sang said as he gestured to his friend. Shangdi said nothing but he looked miffed as if he was annoyed that Chit Sang had made the insinuation that they knew each other. He stared at Chit Sang and Zuko with angry eyes. Zuko decided that he must hate Fire Nation natives.

"There's nothing to get in on," Zuko said a little angrily.

"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is... an egg ," Sokka offered nervously. Zuko and Suki sighed at Sokka's lack of imagination for his excuse.

"Ok, well, I come with you or the Warden hears about this _egg_ too," Chit Sang said as he threateningly loomed over the three of them. They all immediately looked serious while Shangdi who had said very little stepped forward.

His voice which sounded as scarred and dry as he was said, "It may do you well if you bring me and Chit Sang along. You will need our help. I do not know if you know this but…security here has gotten tighter since a prisoner escaped last week."

"What?" Sokka, Suki and Zuko said in unison.

"No one has ever escaped the boiling rock before," Zuko said. Shangdi glared at him.

"He's lying! I've been here for weeks and I didn't hear about any escape," Suki immediately said as she rose to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at Shangdi.

"That's because the matter was hushed up. The Warden didn't want word of it coming out. Didn't want to give the other prisoners ideas," Shangdi said coolly as he continued to glare at Zuko.

Suki frowned and said, "But—''

"You wouldn't know my dear, because you have never met the prisoner himself. His cell is in the east wing," Shangdi said.

"Listen kids, you're going to need all the help you can get. Last escape attempt, wasn't so hot," Chit Sang said as he gestured at Shangdi. Shangdi gave a low guttural growl as Chit Sang addressed him once again.

"What do you mean? Wait—_you_ tried to escape before?" Sokka said as he looked at Shangdi.

Shangdi nodded. As he did so, Zuko couldn't help but feel that he looked so familiar. Sokka on the other hand felt completely different. He couldn't help feeling afraid of Shangdi. He seemed...volatile.

"What happened? It didn't work?" Zuko asked.

Shangdi chuckled and said, "Oh…it worked. Unfortunately, it didn't work for _all_ of us."

"_Us?_ Us? What does that mean?" Suki asked warily.

"The person who escaped a week ago was my _son,_" Shangdi said as his lips curled into a smile. Chit Sang nodded.

"I guess we have no choice," Suki said as she grabbed Sokka's hand worriedly.

Sokka looked at Suki, then Zuko, then the two men and said, "Wait. Wait! Hold up! Before I say anything else, what was your escape plan anyway?"

Shangdi shrugged and said nonchalantly, "We tried to use the gondola. It was a very shoddy plan to begin with though. It was really a wonder how my son managed to escape."

Sokka looked like he was mulling it over. He muttered, "The gondola plan could work…"

"I like the cooler idea better. The gondola's too risky. They could cut the lines while we're riding in it. Unless of course….we ask the Warden politely not to cut the lines for us…" Zuko said his voice sounding sarcastic. Sokka looked at him and nodded.

"Okay, you guys are in. And Cooler plan it is. Now, first we need someone to unbolt the Cooler from the inside," Sokka said as he handed a wrench to Zuko.

Chit Sang gave a small smile and snickered, "Oh, I can get you inside."

* * *

"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn," a male guard said to his female companion as they walked pass Sokka and Zuko.

Zuko had successfully gotten in and unbolted the cooler (with a little help from Chit Sang) and he had gotten outside. Chit Sang, Shangdi and Suki were all waiting by the shore. All that was left for the two of them to hurry down to the shore to catch up with them. Sokka however, couldn't help overhearing the conversation that ensued.

"Anybody interesting ?" the female guard asked.

"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, couple of traitors, some war prisoners. Though I did hear there might be a pirate," the male guard said.

"No foolin'," his companion chuckled.

Zuko gulped. This could change everything. This could interrupt all the meticulous planning they had done. He turned to Sokka looking concerned and he said, "War prisoners. It could be your Father."

"I know," Sokka somberly said as he closed his eyes. He wanted to desperately think. Everything was set. They could escape at this very moment. He shouldn't be selfish and ruin everything all because of his dad. And he wasn't even sure if those new batch of prisoners included his father.

He opened his eyes and found Zuko staring at him questioningly. Zuko said, "Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night ?"

Sokka stared at Zuko haplessly and grumbled, "I don't know."

This indecision was killing him. It was making him tear up a little.

He said, "Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom? All of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up ?"

Zuko looked away. He can't help Sokka with this.

"It's your call," Zuko finally said.

They stood there in utter silence for awhile. Finally Sokka heaved a sigh and said, "I need more time to think about it. But we can't just leave them there. Come on. Let's go."

Zuko stared at Sokka worriedly but he nodded. The two of them silently sprinted across the yard, past the various prison cells and quietly they managed to sneak all the way to shore. Sokka paled after seeing that Chit Sang brought additional people with him. That made him wrestle with what to do even more. Bringing in more people could jeopardize _everything._ Zuko continually looked at him as Sokka had an internal debate. Should he wait for his dad? Should he risk everyone's chance at freedom all for this hunch? He didn't know what to do.

"Took you guys long enough. This here's my girl and my best buddy. They're coming too," Chit Sang said. As always, Shangdi remained impassive and grim though he looked slightl annoyed at the mention of Chit Sang's girlfriend and friend.

"Fine, everybody in the cooler. Let's go," Sokka said sounding slightly annoyed as he continued to think.

"Are you sure you want to go ? You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your Dad is your chance," Zuko asked completely understanding Sokka's quest for honor. He slung his sword to the side.

"Your Dad ," Suki said a little affectionately as she neared Sokka.

"What is the matter? You are hesitating?" Shangdi's coarse voice rang sounding slightly incensed.

"His father may be here. Sokka lost him in the invasion during the day of the black sun," Zuko said, raising his voice a little.

Shangdi nodded and said sounding a little awestruck though he was addressing Sokka, "I've heard of this invasion from prisoners and guards. Your father must be a fine man, boy. Shame, if we are to leave him to horrendous fate."

Everyone cringed a little at his voice. Shangdi rarely spoke always looking solemn and grave but when he did his voice which was as coarse as his exterior never failed to startle them.

Sokka sighed and said miserably, "If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail."

"No, it's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out," Zuko said empathically.

"That's supposed to make me feel better ?" Sokka said as he slung his bag.

"Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again," Zuko continued.

"Seriously, not helping," Sokka said.

Zuko grabbed his shoulder and declared, "You have to _try_ every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail."

Shangdi looked away and solemnly said, "Though he may be Fire Nation scum, the boy speaks the truth, lad."

Zuko cringed after being referred to as scum.

"Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on ?" Chit Sang impatiently said as he put an arm around his girlfriend. He was already in the cooler.

"No, I'm staying. You guys go," Sokka instructed.

He then turned to Suki and said, "You've been here long enough."

"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka," Suki re-assuringly said as she grabbed and stroke his hand.

"I'm staying too," Zuko firmly declared.

"Not me, I'm out. Let's roll baby," he said as he gave one final push. Suddenly he realized that Shangdi wasn't there.

"Hey Shang! Hurry in!" Chit Sang called as the current swept them farther away. The three of them looked startled and surprised as soon as they realized that Shangdi had not followed them.

Shangdi looked as solemn and as grim as ever as he stood watching Chit Sang flow away with his arms crossed.

"Hey! Hey, Shang! Hurry up! You can't swim in this heat!" Chit Sang called his voice sounding more distant.

Zuko plucked up the courage to ask Shangdi. He said, "Um…Shangdi? Ugh…sir? Don't you want to—''

"I refused to be marooned with those spineless, imbecilic Fire Nation cowards. I'd rather rot in a volcano," Shangdi said addressing Zuko with a hint of acid. Zuko looked away. Okay. He hated Fire Nation people. He understood that now. So he'll just back off...

Sokka mumbled, "Um, so—''

"And besides, it would be best I think if I accompany you along in your quest to save your father. I have a high respect for those who have fought in the war," Shangdi said nodding at Sokka.

And without saying anything else, he turned on his heel and stalked off.

* * *

"This is it," Sokka whispered nervously as he saw all the new arrivals clamoring out of the gondola. Shangdi, like a shadow, silently stood and towered over Sokka and his companions as they tried to find his father.

"If my Dad's not there, we risked everything for nothing," Sokka nervously said.

"But we had to," Suki whispered back.

"In my unit, such consequences for a decision would be death," Shangdi spoke up.

"Oh...well...I'm glad I'm not in your unit," Sokka hissed.

"It's very well boy. Not only for you but for _him,_" he said referring to Zuko.

He then continued in an acidic tone, "We show no mercy to Firebenders in the battlefield. And i show no mercy to any sort of Firebender in any field. It is well that you call him friend for I would have buried him five feet below the ground the moment I saw him and that imbecile, Chit Sang and everybody else in this forsaken isle."

Zuko cringed.

"Not helping..." Sokka hissed in a singsong tune as soon as Shangdi finished his long tirade.

"Come on, come on…." Sokka chattered as he continued to search for a glimpse of his father.

A big, burly man with shaggy long hair, a long beard, a nose ring and a tattoo on his arm walked out handcuffed. Zuko immediately said, "Is that him?"

"My Dad doesn't have a nose ring," Sokka indignantly said.

"Where is he ?" Sokka impatiently said as more people started to stream out, none of which were his father.

Suddenly a person with a topknot exited the gondola. Everyone held their breaths.

No one followed behind him.

Sokka could feel the blood rush to his ears. He groaned and said, "That's it? That can't be it!"

"I'm so sorry Sokka," Suki said as she rubbed his back.

"Oh no," Sokka said in dismay. He expected Shangdi to make another comment in that coarse voice of his but nothing came. He merely stood in silence looking as if he accepted their fate.

"Hey you! Get off the gondola!" a guard squawked at the gondola.

Sokka stiffened and so did everybody else. He griped the railings tighter.

A man calmly walked outside. His hard was in an unusual hairstyle of braids and beads and his eyes which looked angry was the clearest of blue.

Sokka sighed in relief and breathed, "Dad."

* * *

"Zuko, is that you?" Sokka whispered nervously as he climbed up the stairs.

A pair of amber eyes appeared out the doorway. Zuko whispered, "I'm here."

The string of events that followed was a mixture of bad and good. Sokka reunited with his dad but Zuko and Suki had also been herded back into their cells. Shangdi had managed to quietly escape for a few minutes. Long enough to talk with Hakoda and Sokka about their new escape made things all the more difficult for Sokka to round them up and tell him of his plan. And to top it all off, Chit Sang blundered the escape so now it won't be long before the Warden could torture Chit Sang into telling him who was behind the plan. They were seriously running out of time.

"I just got done talking to my Dad and Shangdi. We came up with an escape plan together," Sokka whispered.

"What…are you doing here?" a voice demanded.

Sokka immediately jumped up, startled. He spun around to find a Fire Nation guard staring at him critically.

"I was just telling this dirty lowlife what I think of him!" Sokka nervously said as he jerked a thumb at the door.

"Well, you'll have to do that later, he's coming with us," the guard sternly said.

"Why?" Sokka asked stupidly before he could stop himself.

The guard stared at him suspiciously before saying, "Because we have orders straight from the Warden. That's why."

Sokka smiled at her nervously. Finally he said, "Could I just get ten more seconds to rough him up a bit?"

The guard stared at him clearly amused. Finally she sighed and said, "Fine, ten seconds."

She then began to chat with her companion as Sokka entered the cell and began to punch Zuko's mattress saying, "Take that! And this!"

"Newbie," the male guard chuckled.

"We have a new plan but it's gonna need a big distraction," Sokka whispered in between punches.

"Be in the yard in one hour," Sokka said as the door opened. Sokka quickly lunged at Zuko and rammed his head against the mattress, providing a sheepish smile as the male guard entered.

"Alright, that's enough," he said as he grabbed Sokka's arm and hauled him outside. The two of them quickly positioned themselves against Zuko's side and began to drag him outside.

"What are you doing ? Where are you taking me ?' Zuko demanded as he was rallied along the halls. The guards said nothing. They merely stopped by a cell, opened it and shoved Zuko inside. Zuko landed in a chair and he fell with a great thud.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Zuko protested.

"Come on, Zuko. We all know that's a lie," a slow, dull voice droned.

Zuko paled.

He knew that voice.

He looked up in surprise, "Mai."

* * *

"How did you know I was here ? Wait! Did Azula put you up to this?" Zuko demanded angrily, his voice rising as Mai stepped forward. In her hand, she carried a very sharp knife and her face looked apathetic but it gave off an aura of anger.

"Yes, you are right. Azula, did in fact, put me up to this. She tasked me to steadily torture you until you tell me where the Avatar is. Can't say I blame her though," Mai coldly said.

"What are you talking about? Did she get to you with all her lies?" Zuko hissed.

"What lies? If anyone's lying…it's you Zuko," Mai said.

"What?"

"You betrayed your own country," Mai flatly said as the knife glinted in her finger.

"That's not how I see it," Zuko said as Mai turned to the side sulkily.

"What happened to you Zuko?" Mai began.

"What happened to _you?_ You were the one who gave me advice to go out and get what I want and what's right—''

"I didn't mean that you should listen to me—''

"Yes, you did! But Azula's got you thinking otherwise! I bet she's brainwashing you right now…making you think that I'm some sort of traitor! Can't you see Mai? This is going to help all of us. This is about the Fire Nation. This is about the world," Zuko said.

"What has gotten into you Zuko? What's making you thinking like this? What made you betray your own country? That stupid, little earth kingdom peasant?" Mai fiercely said as she spun around.

"Leave her out of this!" Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"Azula's right. I was wrong to give you that kind of advice. She's clouding your judgment Zuko," Mai said.

"No. Azula's the one clouding _your_ judgment! Can't you see she's manipulating you? That she's just using you as a pawn in one of her little games! You have to stop being afraid of her!" Zuko said.

Mai stared at him.

"_Mai, please._ I know you're not like this. The Avatar…the Avatar….is our only hope at peace. You have to understand. You have to let me go," Zuko pleaded.

Mai stared at him blankly.

"Mai—''

"Is she really worth all that trouble?" Mai asked suddenly.

"What? Who?" Zuko asked sounding incredulous.

"The Earth kingdom peasant. _Jin. _Is she really worth betraying your country?" Mai stonily said.

"This isn't just about Jin! This is about the whole world!" Zuko said.

And he meant every word of it. Sure, Jin was a major factor into his conversion to the side of good but she wasn't the main reason. This wasn't all about him and Jin. This was about the world and Aang and how he was willing to do whatever it takes to abate all his and his family's mistakes to the world. This wasn't about Jin at all. Zuko was surprised Mai even bothered to ask that.

Suddenly she opened the door, leaned against the doorway and said, "Go."

"What?" Zuko asked in surprised.

"Go. Go to your friends. Save the world," Mai said sounding slightly bitter.

Zuko warily stood up and walked towards the door. As he approached Mai said, "Leave some scorch marks on the wall. To show a sign of struggle."

It all felt quite surreal to Zuko. He told Mai to step back and he firebent on the walls. He stepped out and closed the door locking it and he stared back at Mai who was staring at him with expressionless eyes.

"Thanks," he whispered and as he spun around to leave Mai suddenly spoke up.

"Zuko?"

"Huh?"

In a strangely sad voice she said, "Did you know that if you stayed in the Fire Nation, we were arranged to be married?"

Zuko thought about it for awhile. Yes, he did know. But he left even if he knew. He even if he knew that Mai still, sort-of likes him no matter what she told him. But he made a choice. He left everything behind because there was nothing left for him. Not Ty Lee. Certainly not Azula. Not his father. Not even Mai.

He said quietly, "Yes. I know."

* * *

"Sokka, what's going on?" Suki asked breathlessly as soon as she saw Sokka approaching her cell. Sokka hastily unlocked the door and entered her room.

Sokka hurried by her side and said urgently, "I don't have much time. If I'm seen with you, the guards might think something's up. I just talked to my Dad and Shangdi."

"The really creepy guy who has a thing against Zuko?" Suki asked.

"Yes. _That_ Shangdi," Sokka nodded.

"That's great."

"We're escaping today. On the gondola," Sokka whispered excitedly.

"What? I thought Shangdi said that that didn't work," Suki said in confusion.

"We heard of what he and his son planned and we modified it a bit. Apparently they made a big distraction or something and then they hurried to the gondola pad, knocked out the guard and hurried in the gondola. Guards were alerted however and they were about to cut the lines. Shangdi had to stay behind to stop them," Sokka said.

"So how is our plan any different?" Suki asked.

"My dad and I came up with a plan together. We're gonna commandeer the gondola and do exactly what Shangdi and his son did. With one exception. We're going to take a hostage with us so they won't cut the lines," Sokka said with a self-satisfied smile.

"We'll never make it onto the gondola. There's too many guards," Suki said.

"My dad already thought of that. He said we'll need a distraction like what Shangdi and his son did. Only our's will be better. That's why we're gonna start a prison riot," Sokka smirked.

"Okay. Let's say by some miracle this all works and we make it on the gondola. The Warden will still just cut the lines, even if we have a captive," Suki said skeptically as she touched Sokka's elbow.

"Not if the Warden _is_ the captive. I have to go. I'll find you before we start the riot," Sokka smirked. A noise from the outside startled him. He gave her one final look before giving her a big hug and scrambling off.

* * *

Zuko hurried into the yard and he was utterly surprised to find it in complete chaos. Jets of fire were spurting everywhere. People were hitting each other. Everyone was yelling. Zuko ducked and nearly avoided a man who was being thrown into the side. He scanned the yard to find any trace of Sokka and he was relieved to see all of them, along with Suki, his father, Shangdi and surprisingly Chit Sang huddled beneath a tower trying to look inconspicuous and trying to stay out of the chaos. He nimbly scrambled towards them and quickly threw off a guard who was trying to subdue him.

"Zuko, good. We're all here. Now all we need to do is grab the Warden and get to the gondolas," Sokka said looking relieved as Zuko ducked down. He pointed at the Warden who stood over the railings barking orders.

"And how do we do that ?" Zuko demanded feeling slightly annoyed at the turn of events.

"I'm not sure," Sokka said uncertainly.

"Argh, I thought you thought this through," Zuko grumbled.

"I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through!" Sokka hysterically said.

"Maybe not everything. But this is kind of important," Zuko argued.

The two of them continued to bicker when Chit Sang said, "Hey, uhh, fellas. I think your girlfriend's taking care of it."

Sokka who peered over Chit Sang's elbow in surprise. As a guard and a prisoner scuffled, Suki ran into and jumped on their heads. Suki rapidly ran over the sea of prisoner's heads. She leaped onto the tower and scaled the wall rapidly. She pushed herself from the wall as she backflipped to land her feet on some pipes below the platform.

Suki flipped herself from below the platform to a railing as a guard cameby and started to firebend. She flipped off the railing, narrowly missing the flames and gives the guard a series of punches that knocks him unconscious. Two guards ran out from a corridor. One of the guards aimed a firebending kick towards Suki but she dodged it and used her arm to trip his other leg, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. The other guard tried to firebend towards her but Suki dodged it and jumped to the railing behind him. She quickly jumped onto the wall. The guard stared at her, dumbfounded.

Suki began to scale the wall with fierce determination. The warden who looked down at her with a mixture of shock and nervousness. Suki flipped herself over the railing and landing down on the platform. The guard near the warden hurried into a stance and before he did so, Suki slid on the ground and tripped him.

The warden attempted to move but Suki got up and held his arm in a deadlock grip. Her other hand is positioned dangerously in front of the warden's face should he attempt to fight back. She stared at him, smirking.

"You wouldn't dare," the Warden hissed.

Suki turned the warden around and brought his hands together as she rapidly tied them with a red string Suki remained behind the warden, pulling down the warden's headband and turning it around so the tie is on his mouth.

"Sorry, Warden. You're my prisoner now," Suki smirked.

She looked down and saw that the group had already hurried towards her. Hakoda and Sokka looked impressed and so did Chit San and Zuko. Only Shangdi retained his solemn and grim expression as he approached all of them. Suki began to wonder if something smelly was always shoved up his nose.

"We've got the Warden, now let's get out of here!" Suki said.

The guys who had all been running struggled to catch their breaths.

"That's some girl," Hakoda breathlessly wheezed.

"Tell me about it," Sokka said sounding a little lovestruck.

All of them hurried towards the gondola platform, with Suki keep a firm grip on the Warden and with Zuko and Sokka keeping off attacks. Below them the prisoners continued to riot.

"We're almost there," Suki said sounding breathless.

Then to everyone's surprise, Shangdi hurried next to her, grabbed the Warden and hoisted him up his shoulder. Suki gave him a look of gratitude although he merely returned it with a grave look as they all hurried towards the gondola. As they neared the gondola a couple of guards blocked their way threatening to firebend.

"Back off, we've got the Warden," Zuko warned.

The guards gave a moment of hesitation before nodding at each other and making way for the group.

"Let's go," Zuko said and the group warily hurried past the guards. The Warden in particular began to struggle with much more vigor.

"Everyone in," Suki said as she forced the gondola open.

Sokka boarded the gondola first. Zuko who still remained at the platform and he ran to the lever, pushing it down as soon as everyone scrambled in. The ropes of the gondola loosened and uncoiled. The gondola as it slowly moved off, leaving Zuko behind Zuko who kicked the lever several times. He turned his head and he saw the guards running towards him. With one final kick, he successfully broke the lever and he quickly ran towards the gondola.

Zuko sailed over the railings with fire balls sailing over his head. Sokka quickly grabbed Zuko as he struggled to enter the gondola.

"What are you doing ?" Sokka demanded as soon as Zuko was safely inside

"I'm making it so they can't stop us," Zuko panted.

"Way to think ahead," Sokka said appraisingly.

"We're on our way," Suki said.

Silence pervaded for a short while. Hakoda, growing bored, looked out back to the gondola tower and he was extremely surprised to find two girls and a couple of guards standing on the gondola platform.

"Wait. Who's that ?" he said nervously.

Zuko whipped his head and paled. He muttered, "That's a problem. It my sister and her friend."

Zuko and Hakoda looked back to the tower. Azula looked at the gondola looking curious but still calm and cool.

The lines of the gondola began to shake as Ty Lee cartwheeled onto them. Azula began running ahead below the lines. Ty Lee then proceeded to run on the line. Azula began readying herself. Azula pushed her fist forward as she firebet a huge jet of blue fire. Azula propelled herself from the ground into the air.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for," Sokka grimly said.

"Me too," Zuko said.

He then proceeded to climb up to the gondola's roof. The two girls were slowly nearing the gondola. On the roof, Suki, Sokka and Zuko began to prepare themselves. Sokka unsheathed his sword. The three of them faced the two girls who were smiling maliciously. Ty Lee was giving Zuko an apologetic look. Ty Lee quickly cartwheeled off the line, onto the roof, facing Suki. Azula somersaulted into the backs of Zuko and Sokka, landing with a crouch.

Azula who stood up with an evil grin on her face. Azula who got into a stance with her arms outstretched in front of her. Azula firebent with her feet towards Zuko. Zuko and Sokka immediately scramble to avoid the flames.

Meanwhile Ty Lee and Suki were locked in a fierce battle. Ty Lee tried to block all of Suki's chi blocks, which Suki had already anticipated beforehand. She managed to block all of Ty Lee's attacks successfully.

The next few things to happen were a blur. Zuko and Sokka were successfully holding off Azula while Suki was gaining the upper hand in the battle. Suddenly a commotion happened in the gondola platform. The Warden broke free from his gagged mouth and yelled something. Ty Lee paused from her battle with Suki and she screeched, "They're about to cut the line!"

Azula smirked, turned to her brother and said, "Then it's time to leave. Goodbye, Zuko."

Ty lee and Azula then flipped onto the roof of another gondola with Ty Lee looking at the group remorsefully and with Azula giving a wicked smile.

"They're cutting the line! This gondola's about to go!" Zuko cried as he scrambled back inside.

"I hope this thing floats," Hakoda said as he helped the two boys inside.

"Who is that ?" Sokka asked.

Everyone scrambled towards the window and saw a figure fending off the guards.

"It's Mai," Zuko flatly said.

No one said anything as the gondola reached the other side. Zuko in particular, looked shocked. Everyone scrambled out of the gondola and after a few mocking words directed on the Warden, Shangdi immediately flung him back in the gondola.

"Well, we made it out. Now what ?" Suki asked.

"Zuko, what are you doing ?" Sokka asked as soon as he saw Zuko looking around.

"My sister was on that island," Zuko muttered absentmindedly.

"Yeah and she's probably right behind us. So let's not stop," Sokka hurriedly said.

Zuko looked back at the island wistfully and murmured, "What I mean is she must have come here somehow. There. That's our way out of here."

He ran over to the edge and saw a Fire Nation zeppelin docked on shore.

Sokka peered over Zuko's shoulder and smirked, "Nice going Zuko!"

Zuko cracked a smile as Sokka slapped his back. That was the first friendly gesture he had received from Sokka.

Jin would be proud.

He had just made friends with Sokka.

* * *

The journey back to their camp was filled with a celebratory mood though it was eventually dampened by Shangdi's silence. He was a strange man and he never spoke or showed a hint of happiness at their escape. He merely sat in his seat and continued to look serious and grave and grim. Zuko and Sokka continued to examine him as everyone else chattered. Zuko noticed that his eyes looked slightly angry and they seemed to be directed at Zuko and Chit Sang. Zuko noticed early on that Shangdi seemed to have a very prevalent distaste for people from the Fire Nation. But then what could he expect? Judging from all those scars, Shangdi had a very good reason to hate all Firebenders.

Chit Sang told them in hushed whispers that he was an Earth Kingdom general and possibly a king or someone of noble blood. Years and years in war had made him slightly crazy and disturbed and made him develop a very curious expression of gravity and dimness and a complete distaste for anyone belonging or born in the Fire Nation.

Zuko decided that that was all the more reason to stay out of his way once they reached camp.

Sokka of course was never satisfied with silence.

"So…Shangdi….where were you from before you were capture?" Sokka said.

"You mean the rubble and ash that the Fire Nation has made out of my home?" he asked gruffly as he gave Zuko an angry stare. Everyone paused from their conversation.

Zuko shrank.

"Um…okay. Never mind," Sokka said.

"Hey! Don't mess with him, okay kid? Shangdi hates anyone who's from the Fire Nation..."

"How did you become friends with him?"

"I'm not. We just happen to hear your plan at the same time," Chit Sang shortly said.

"Oh."

"Anyways, stop bothering him. He hates nosy people. And people who talk. And just…people in general. They say the war made him a little…" Chit Sang whispered, creating a circle with his finger beside his head, symbolizing crziness.

Shangdi merely gave them a cold stare.

"Yeah…I kind of figured that out," Sokka said as he avoided Shangdi's glare.

"Boy…he is creepy," Sokka whispered to Suki.

Suki patted him sympathetically. Zuko on the other hand could not help feeling as if he has seen Shangdi before. There was something about his cool and grim expression that reminded him of…

Zuko shook himself.

That sounded stupid.

Never mind.

They continued to journey on in happiness. When they caught sight of the camp Sokka eagerly disembarked.

"What are you doing in this thing? What happened to the war balloon ?" Katara demanded as soon as Sokka and Zuko bounded off the zeppelin.

Zuko gave a small smile as soon as he saw Jin. She looked relieved to see him and she was smiling wide and looking happy. He couldn't wait to run up to her and give her a kiss on the nose.

"It kind of got destroyed," Zuko smirked.

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip," Aang said.

"Did you at least get some good meat ?" Jin asked as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Sokka closed his eyes and said, "I did. The best meat of all…"

Figures then began to emerge from the zeppelin. Zuko turned around and saw that it was the burly figure of Shangdi who was marching out first.

Sokka said, "The meat of friendship and _fatherhood…"_

Suddenly a gasp interrupted Sokka. They all turned to look at the perpetrator who was Jin and saw that she had gone pale white and she looked afraid and slightly nervous. She was biting her lip and she was digging at the insides of her shirt. And she was staring with a mixture of utmost shock and horror at someone behind them.

Everyone turned to find Shangdi who was staring at Jin with an equally shocked expression. However, after a few minutes, his expression returned to its usual seriousness and solemnity.

Finally, to everyone's surprise Jin gave a short bow and Shangdi gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Um…Jin? What's going on?" Toph said as soon as she felt the tension Jin and everyone was feeling.

Jin took a deep breath, approached Shangdi cautiously with an air of fear and turned to face everyone.

With a heavy sigh she said, "Um…guys. I'd like you to meet…my dad."

* * *

_I know, I know. I SUCK for updating this long. But we have finals coming up (AGAIN) and my boss's being a dick (AGAIN). Anyways, I managed to squeeze this in between shifts and classes and I'm trying my best to update faster so PEACE. Lol. I was planning to just skip this ep by the way but then I was listening to All Apologies by Nirvana and I suddenly imagined Jin meeting her daddy. So yeah, Sokka and Hakoda, not the only father-child reunion in this chap. Some of you may hate how much I've deviated the plot but I'm just going with how my gut feels. I was planning on a Jin-father reunion for a long time but I figured it would be when the comet comes._

_And yes, the guy who escaped from the Boiling Rock was Ge Jiang so maybe a family reunion and a major blowout is in the works._

_Special thanks to the poor souls who still reviewed: Panther-Strife, the reviwer who wrote "Love it!" (you didn't write your name), ArrayePL, tgbwe, Punch A Fish In The Face and Inhibitor._

_To Beloved Daughter: Thanks and Whoops. Did not realize that. Looks like I have my first plot hole. Sorry but my busy sked is kind of keeping me from remembering all the details I wrote in past chapters. I'll try to look out for them some more._

_Thanks also to those who added me in their favorite stories and favorite authors list._

_I'm so sorry if I'm updating late but I am not abandoning this story._

_I'm sticking through it._

_You guys just have to give me like a month to get the next update._

_But don't leave me hanging._

_Please review._


	22. Part XXI

**Burning Brigh**

_Part XXI_

A strange sort of silence ensued as soon as Jin introduced her father. Katara and Aang, who's faces were already on the point of enthusiasm, promptly paused into a more shell-shocked and somber expression. Toph, who had absolutely no idea what was so wrong with the fact that Jin had just reunited with her long-lost father, furrowed her brow and wrinkled her nose in confusion. Haru, the Duke and Teo seemed extremely petrified and humbled by Shangdi's tall and towering form combined with his grim and grave aura. Sokka, who had been spouting and whispering insults and gripes about Shangdi, all the way from The Boiling Rock to the camp suddenly looked sheepish and he seemed unsure what he was supposed to feel and how he should behave.

Zuko felt the worse out of all of them. He immediately felt sick in the stomach though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the fact that Jin's dad was so scary. Maybe it was because Zuko knew that he absolutely despised Firebenders and he would probably blow a gasket if he found out that his daughter was dating one. And the prince of all those disgusting, putrid Firebenders no less. Maybe it was because Jin and her father looked nothing alike—his grim and serious face completely clashed with Jin's usual cheerful and chirpy expression.

Or maybe—and this was what made Zuko feel the most squeamish about—it was the fact that Jin's father seemed…really unstable. He looked so serious and slightly mad—he had a look of a man who was mad, completely knew about his madness and accepted it and would not hesitate to act on it. Throughout their whole trip, Chit Sang mentioned to them numerous stories about Shangdi. He had said that many said that Shangdi was one of the oldest of the oldest war-dogs—a man who had lived in war and was seasoned in it for his whole life. He was also apparently a very illustrious Earth Kingdom general and was a noble but that had yet to be verified since Chit Sang's account of things seemed murky from there and at best, it seemed only to be a collection of rumors put into a rather colorful tale and Sokka was very skeptical about the whole matter from that point on. But he was very sure about one thing.

And that was that Shangdi was utterly ruined by war.

He had gone slightly crazy by his numerous encounters in the battle field and his scarred sinews were there to prove it. Also, he said very little and had only two expressions-his usual grim, austere look or his infuriated look.

Shangdi of course, didn't emanate too much of a reaction. He merely gave a short snort before returning to his cool, collected and grim state, standing straight and erect as Jin timidly faced her father. His expression was the same as always—he looked as if something horrible was about to happen and that he already knew it and he didn't care and he had already accepted his fate and would just stand there and wait.

Jin on the other hand, didn't look too cheerful. Zuko expected her to break out into a hug. Or start crying tears of joy. Or run up to her father screaming, "Daddy!" Instead she walked over to him in a nervous sort of way and began to bite at her lip and pull at the hem of her clothes.

Then she gave a sort of little roll on her shoulders before saying in a rather nervous manner, "Um…hi dad…"

Shangdi nodded and for a short while he broke out of his usual grim stupor, looking embarrassed and unsure. He mumbled something incoherently before saying in his usual coarse, rough and grave voice, "Daughter."

Sokka, Zuko, Aang and the rest looked at them expecting more. A hug maybe. A small kiss on the cheek. A fatherly-daughterly pat.

Instead Jin merely stared at him and he stared back. Jin spread her arms out as if to hug him but after a second's deliberation and the stoic reaction on her father's face, she instead quickly held her hand out and her father awkwardly took it and Shangdi's massive hands roughly took Jin's and shook it hard and together they exchanged subdued greetings before promptly facing everyone else, a good meter's width apart. Katara and Sokka, who were used to more demonstrative displays of attention with their father, stared at Jin and Shangdi, completely flabbergasted.

"I'm new. What's up, everybody?"

Everyone broke from their stupor and turned around to face Chit Sang who was jovially walking towards them. Only Shangdi stayed still. Chit Sang scratched his brow in confusion as everyone stared on blankly at them.

"_Dad."_

The weirdness of the whole situation was momentarily broken by Katara who rushed towards Hakoda tears in her eyes. After enveloping her father in a bone-crushing hug, Zuko cringed a little as he examined Jin's face. She was smiling though he could detect a hint of embarrassment and even…_jealousy_ in her eyes. He understood.

Jin and her dad just had a really confusing and weird reunion while Katara's reunion with Hakoda was riddled with joy. She was embarrassed and slightly jealous that she and her father couldn't put out the same kind of affection for each other.

He had lots, if not, more of those moments before with his father, the Supreme Fire Lord of all. Zuko internally scowled.

"Hi, Katara," Hakoda said happily as he patted his daughter's head.

"How are you here? What is going on? _And Suki?_ How are you? You look good!" Katara gushed. She then turned to Sokka and said, "Where did you go?"

"We… kind of went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka sheepishly said, managing to look cheerful and awkward at the same time as Shangdi threateningly loomed over him.

Katara, Sokka and Hakoda submerged into a group hug once again which only propelled Jin and her father into a more awkward, unloving and very unfamilial light. Katara, whose motherly instincts never failed to give way said, sounding slightly annoyed, "Going to a Fire Nation Prison….how risky! You should've at least told us! Or left us a more decent explanation—''

Sokka cut her off with a condescending wave and said patronizingly, "Seesh Katara. _Relax._ I mean we came back didn't we? And not only did we come back…we brought others back. We brought dad—''

Hakoda flashed a grinned.

"Suki," Sokka said affectionately as he wrapped his free arm around Suki.

"Um…Chit Sang—''

Chit Sang nodded enthusiastically.

"And….oh yeah…Shangdi."

Pause.

After awhile and after realizing that Shangdi was Jin's father, Sokka broke into a more enthusiastic grin, "Yes! Shangdi! Who also happens to be Jin's dad! See, Katara? Our little trip has made lots of happy family reunions! See Katara? Lots of big, happy families!"

Katara, Sokka and Hakoda smiled happily. They certainly seemed to be having a happy family reunion. The three quickly went into a group hug once again.

Jin and Shangdi on the other hand were another matter.

Shangdi let out a long and annoyed snort and his left eye twitch revealing a small, barely noticeable scar on his eyebrow and he looked irritated with all the joy and hugging and happiness.

Jin cringed and looked away as if she was about to go through an especially painful roller coaster ride.

* * *

"Dad, you already met Jin! Hey—wait! I never got a chance to introduce you to Jin, Suki! Hey, Jin! Jin! _Jin_—''

Zuko had to nudge Jin, who was starting to look absentminded and deep in thought to catch her attention and reel her back in focus. Jin's head snapped up and she nodded a little vacantly as Sokka continued to enthusiastically introduce everyone to his dad and his girlfriend (he was pretty sure that they made it official now), "This is Suki. We met in this Earth Kingdom Island and we bonded over her giving me a Kyoshi Styled Training—''

His introduction lasted for a good half-an-hour and it involved Toph looking slightly peeved and Shangdi fostering no other reaction but a silent grunt here and there and an annoyed look in occasion. He was so massive and huge that he was like a lumbering shadow that always looked mad. Finally, as soon as Sokka was done with his extremely long, introductory, everyone stood there and faced Jin with a look of expectation.

It took Jin a good five minutes to realize that they were all staring at her and another five to realize that they were expecting her to introduce her previously unknown and never-mentioned dad. Jin cleared her throat and nodded, squared her shoulders and opened her mouth. Then she closed it again when she made nothing but a weird, choking sound and realized that the words had died on its way out of her mouth. Finally after a few more seconds of hemming and hawing Jin said in a rather timid voice, "Um…so guys. I guess I should introduce you to my…erm…dad."

"We were travelling with him for like three hours and all along he was your dad! Isn't that hilarious?" Sokka chuckled.

Everyone gave an edgy laugh including Jin but Suki gave Sokka an annoyed punch as soon as everyone stopped laughing.

"So erm…dad….these are my friends—''

Shangdi nodded and gave a small shrug saying that he clearly didn't really care.

"This is Sokka and Katara, they're siblings and I guess you've met their dad, Hakoda—''

"Yeah, I met him," Shangdi said shortly though he was giving a small look of approval. Hakoda gave a small smile.

"Aang, the Avatar—''

Shangdi bowed deeply and respectfully saying, "I pledge my undying service to you Avatar."

Aang blushed.

"Haru, Toph…erm…the Duke, Teo…they're from the earth Kingdom too—''

Shangdi wrinkled his nose.

Zuko's heart pounded.

He was next. He wondered how Jin would introduce him seeing as her father seemed to have an apparent dislike for anyone from the Fire Nation. He stared at Shangdi, preparing for whatever reaction Shangdi might have.

"And this is Zuko….my…um…._friend."_

Zuko could barely keep his temper in check.

He couldn't believe it.

How dare she? He couldn't believe that Jin is actually ashamed of introducing him as her boyfriend. After all they've been through! After all the issues they were having! How could she just turn around and introduce him as her_ friend_. He knew that she probably had a good reason for not telling her dad right there and then, seeing as he was looking at Zuko as if he was a piece of really disgusting and foul-smelling garbage but his pride and not to mention his feelings could barely stop themselves. He noticed that everyone was staring at him a little nervously as if they expected him to do something stupid.

Well, they can rest their stupid, little brains.

He'll do nothing of that sort.

"Actually, I'm Jin's_ boyfriend_," Zuko said before he could actually censor them from coming out.

Uh oh.

Everyone slapped their palms unto their foreheads.

And Jin looked livid with horror.

Shangdi face turned into an extremely horrible shade of purple. He glared at Zuko, his fists balled and he seemed to be seriously contemplating on whether he should pummel Zuko until he looked like mush or he should control himself and just simply sock one on his head. Apparently he chose neither of his options because he merely stamped his foot on the ground and a small—no, not small—huge, rock column spiraled a few inches away from Zuko. Zuko's instincts took over and he swiftly dodged it.

His head then looked ten times bigger and Sokka was pretty sure that Zuko would be eating through a feeding tube by tonight. Jin looked so hapless and afraid and worried and concerned and she looked as if she was about to say something.

Then, her dad grunted but his face still looked purple and a vein was sticking out of his temple and he said in a voice filled with disdain, "And I thought my daughter had better tastes!"

And with that he stormed off in big, heavy footsteps.

* * *

"I still can't believe creepy guy is Jin's dad!"

"Are you sure she didn't mistake him for someone more…friendly? Cheerful? Happy—''

"Less neurotic?"

"Funny. Now that you guys mention it, I've never heard Jin mention stuff about her dad."

"Actually….I don't think that I've heard Jin talk about…her you know...family at all."

"You think they have problems?"

"Problems? Are you kidding me? I've seen hyena-lions get show better displays of fatherly affection!"

"Well…I mean…don't you think she would've told us if she had problems with her dad? We are her friends after all—''

"But still….that was so weird…."

"Maybe it's just the feng shui of the whole place that's throwing them off—''

"Or just you know…Zuko's presence in general—''

"Hey! Shut up! He's over there…."

"But yeah…I mean…he seems to really hate firebenders…."

"Yep. He most certainly does. I heard that—''

"No one wants to hear any more of your loony stories you old goat—''

"But still. I don't think that there isn't anything too majorly wrong. I mean Jin's so bright and happy and—''

Zuko rolled his eyes as he stared at everyone in the campfire talk on and on and on about Jin and her dad. It seemed to be the topic of the night. And Zuko couldn't help but feel frustrated as he listened to the turn of their conversation.

He was frustrated because as Katara had so eloquently pointed out, he really didn't know much about Jin or what her life was like because she never really talked about it. He was her boyfriend for Agni's sake! He should know things about her by now. He should know that she's having problems with her dad. He should know that she had a dad! Jin always said that he was at war. It never occurred to him that it might have affected Jin in some sort of way. He should know that maybe it was a really bad idea to bring up that he was Jin's boyfriend when she clearly didn't want to tell her dad yet.

Zuko sighed.

He should've known that it was wrong to rock the boat when it was obviously much rocked already.

Everyone grew quiet as soon as Jin entered the campfire.

"Hey Jin!" Sokka said as soon as Jin sat down next to Zuko to everyone's, including Zuko's surprise. He thought that she'd be furious with him after the whole incident though she seemed fine except for the mild look of confusion on her face.

"Hey guys!" Jin said as she began to spoon some noodles into her bowl. Zuko stared at her blankly.

"So…um….how's it going with your dad? Is he still...um…"

"He's okay. I got him settled into his room and all that. He's always like that when he gets into his moods," Jin said shortly, obviously not wanting to discuss things further.

"Maybe we should invite your father to dinner? The noodles don't taste as good when it's cold," Hakoda said as soon as he cleared his throat.

"Oh…that's really nice of you guys but seriously….just give him some space. He doesn't want to be bothered when he gets into this mood," Jin said as she forced a smile.

Everyone didn't give it too much thought since they immediately lapsed into a series of frivolous discussions. Only Toph and Zuko seemed to notice that something was extremely off because Toph was giving Jin a look of disbelief when she told everyone that she made sure her dad was fine and Zuko was giving her a look of confusion. They ate dinner. Katara refused that Zuko and Jin go off on their own again since she wanted a big celebratory gathering because of the reunion with her dad and Suki and…Jin's dad.

Jin and Zuko chatted with everyone else.

They never mentioned Jin's dad or his extremely weird and explosive behavior anymore. Sokka and Katara were too caught up with the return of their dad and Suki. Finally, dinner ended with everyone dispersing. Hakoda decided that he wanted to rest in and so did Chit Sang. Haru, Teo and the Duke volunteered to show them their rooms. Sokka and Suki hurried off to do…only Agni knows what. Katara, Aang and Toph stayed awhile to chat with them about small matters. When it was already almost midnight, Katara yawned and said she wanted to go to bed. She then washed the pots of with Aang assisting her before stalking off to bed. Soon, Aang called it quits, and Toph after a few more hours which involved her look pointedly at Jin and asking lots and lots of question about her dad, finally went to bed leaving Jin and Zuko alone.

Jin sighed loudly and looked away while Zuko gave a small cough.

"You're mad," Zuko said after awhile.

"No," Jin denied.

A little too quickly.

"You're mad."

"I'm not."

"You're making that crinkly thing in your eyebrow—''

"Oh, _please."_

"You're wrinkling your nose—''

"And I'm not allowed to do that?"

"And you're mouth is doing that adorable little pout—''

"That's just 'cause I want to kiss you!" Jin smirked before giving Zuko a small kiss on his lips before he could talk again. Zuko gave a small smile and a quick silence ensued.

After a few more moments, Zuko said quietly, "I'm sorry."

Jin didn't say anything but she silently leaned on Zuko's shoulder as he placed an arm around her.

"Is he still mad?" Zuko asked as he began to stroke her shoulder.

"Who?"

"You're dad."

"Oh."

"Is he still mad at me? At you know…."

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"I said I don't know," Jin said sounding impatient.

"You don't know if he's mad at me or you…just don't know?"

"I just don't know," Jin said sounding a little embarrassed.

"You mean he said nothing about me at all while you were showing him around his room?" Zuko said a little worriedly.

"I don't know because…I never spoke to him."

"What?"

"I never even showed him to his room," Jin said looking a little ashamed.

"Huh? But you said—"

"I don't know. He just stormed off somewhere. And I never had the courage—I mean, I just left him alone," Jin confessed.

"Oh."

"I don't even know where he is. I don't which room he took. I don't even know if he's still in this temple," Jin said sounding more confused, embarrassed and distressed with every word.

"Jin—''

"Look, it's no big deal okay? This happens all the time," Jin said trying her best to sound like it was a very normal thing. It sounded more as if she was trying to convince herself instead of Zuko. Zuko furrowed his brows at her.

"What happens all the time? You avoiding your dad when he gets mad?" Zuko couldn't help adding that comment in.

"When he's angry it's always best not to bother him. Trust me," Jin said as she grimaced and subconsciously she began to rub at the spot where her extremely painful looking bruise was located. Zuko caught it even after she hastily pulled her hand away from the area.

"Is um….everything okay with you and your dad?" Zuko asked awkwardly feeling very unsure on how he was supposed to phrase the question. He detected that something may be wrong between Jin and her dad. He could see the parallel in the relationship. How Jin never talks about her dad. How she and her brothers work so hard to erase that aspect in their life. He could remember how the three of them always dodged questions pertaining to their family life.

Jin frowned at him and said sounding a little irritated, "Of course. Everything's perfectly fine with me and my dad."

Zuko defensively raised his hands up, "I'm not…I'm not saying anything! All I'm telling you is that if you have any problems—''

"I don't—''

"—then you can tell me. Because I've been through a lot with my dad too," Zuko said trying his best to sound like a good, caring and supportive boyfriend instead of some awkward guy trying to get his girlfriend to talk about her daddy issues.

Zuko then added a little shyly, "I understand. I know what it's like."

His hand subconsciously rose to his scar.

Jin, in her constant delusional state of happy denial said insistently and stubbornly, _"Thanks_. But I'm pretty sure that we're doing fine right now."

Zuko, feeling a little miffed at Jin's annoying refusal to talk or to acknowledge that she and her were having a less-than-perfect fatherly relationship. He was about to open his mouth to argue with her once again when they heard a large crashing sound, a shrill scream, lots of yelling and thudding footsteps.

Sokka immediately came hurtling into view looking extremely rattled with Suki close behind him. Jin quickly sprang off physical contact from Zuko and said in a rather dry voice, "What happened?"

"I swear I didn't—He was in my—I thought you got him into—I had no idea—''

"Sokka what's wrong?" Jin asked worriedly as she heard more yelling from the distance.

"Your dad is in my room!" Sokka declared looking extremely incensed and worried. He gave Jin a pointed look.

"What?" Zuko said.

"He's in my room! He's in my—do I really need to just repeat that? He's in my room sharpening a really scary-looking knife right now—''

"There's no knife. Sokka's exaggerating," Suki scoffed as soon as she saw Jin's horrified expression.

"Okay, fine! There is no knife! But Jin—he's in my room! Doing push-ups and a bunch of really scary stances! And he nearly crushed me, might I add when I got in! I thought you got him settled in!" Sokka said accusingly.

"I—I did," Jin stuttered.

"Well, I didn't think you'd give him my room!" Sokka said hysterically. Obviously they had a very violent and less-than-peaceful altercation.

Jin sighed and stood up and rubbed her head as if she was about to go through a really painful ordeal.

She glumly said, "I guess I have to sort this out."

Zuko sighed, perfectly aware that he received no goodnight kiss seeing as Jin hurriedly stalked off to Sokka's room with Sokka and Suki in tow.

* * *

Zuko always waked earlier than everyone else. He did it to meet the sun so he could feel its rays and soak up the power it emanated. He also trained hard because he loved the feeling of the power surge he got whenever he felt the sun rise. No one usually woke up during that hour, not even Katara who had to prepare breakfast.

Zuko, needless to say, was extremely surprised when he heard loud sounds coming from a particular pagoda. He silently hurried to where the sounds were and as soon as he saw the person who was there he quickly ducked out of view.

It was Jin's dad.

And as of the moment he was doing a very intense and disciplined drill. Zuko examined him and watched him from the corner of his eye and saw that he was very rigid and very serious in his drill. He knew that look from visiting so many of his father's training camps. It was the look of a soldier who has been trained all his life to never show fear and to always be ready for battle. Zuko contemplated on deciding if he should go out and alert Shangdi of his presence. He decided against the latter and instead silently clambered back into his room.

Zuko felt stupid. He felt ridiculous for letting this man get the better of him. Why should he be afraid of Shangdi? Zuko was very sure that he didn't need to be. He was strong-willed and he could take on Shangdi if the situation ever arises. And plus, he was very sure that somehow, he was a horrible father. He shouldn't be kissing up a man who probably treated Jin badly.

But still, even Zuko couldn't hide the fact that a small part of him was craving to impress Jin's dad. He wanted to show Jin's father that he was more than just the average Fire Nation scum. Zuko shook his head. He didn't really understand the point in all this. But then, wasn't it normal? Don't all boyfriends try to impress their girlfriend's fathers? Zuko was sure that although Shangdi was a horrendous father, Jin still regarded him with respect and love (and he figured that out when she continually insisted that she and her dad were fine).

Zuko breathed out a column of smoke. He as very determined now. He was going to make Jin's father see things differently about him.

By the time he finished his internal rant, it was already near dawn and he knew that in about thirty minutes breakfast would be ready. He hurried over to the pagoda where they usually ate together. Everyone wasn't there yet. Sokka was there sitting at the far end of the camp circle glowering at Jin. He was still miffed about the whole ordeal last night. Jin had to convince him to relocate into another room since she obviously decided that between Sokka and her dad, Sokka would be most likely the one willing to compromise.

Jin on the other hand didn't seem to care at Sokka's obvious approval. She looked pale. She looked tired. She looked like she hadn't slept properly. Zuko greeted her and they kissed each other and he sat next to her and placed his arm around her. They exchanged small talk and eventually Sokka stopped being mad at Jin once Suki arrived along with Toph and Aang. Suki was pretty enthusiastic with meeting Jin and Sokka as usual, couldn't help butting in. Hakoda arrived with Chit Sang and the rest and soon it was amassing to a pretty average morning.

That all ended when Shangdi came stomping into camp.

Zuko didn't take his arm around Jin, even when Shangdi gave him a small little growl but he tensed up considerably. Everyone tried to keep the same lighthearted atmosphere they had before they came though they were failing miserably since Shangdi had a very strong aura about him. He sat down, grabbed a bowl and just piled tons and tons of food unto it without saying a word.

So that is where Jin gets her huge appetite.

"Daughter. How long has it been since I've been imprisoned by those Fire Nation bastards?" Shangdi grunted as he shoved food into his mouth.

Everyone gasped at Jin's father's lack of wholesome language.

Jin promptly answered in clipped voice, "Five months, seven weeks, three days."

Shangdi scowled and said in his rough gravelly voice, "Long time. Long time. Your brother tells me of the failed rebellion—''

"You met He Shen? Ge Jiang?" Jin asked.

Her father glared at her, obviously infuriated that he was interrupted. Jin shrank and immediately muttered a sorry.

"Yes. Yes, I've met him. In the Boiling Rock. He escaped," Shangdi said after some time.

Sokka chose the moment to speak up, "Oh yeah! Your son! The guy who escaped!"

Shangdi scowled. Jin elbowed Sokka sending him a clear message. No interruptions.

"Did he…did he tell you why it failed?" Jin asked a little fearfully and Zuko tensed. He realized why she was so nervous at introducing him in the first place. He was the cause of why the rebellion failed. It was his entire fault. And Jin was the one who vouched for him. He could only imagine what her father's reaction would be when he found out.

"No." Her father looked disappointed. Jin sighed, sounding relieved.

"He didn't need to tell me why it failed. The reason is very obvious. The weeks and months that had passed since the Attack has left you and your brothers to grow complacent. Blithe. _Weak._ Doubtless, the three of you have never bothered to pursue you're training after I had been captured," her father said in a scathing tone.

Jin began to look down and was suddenly interested at examining her shoes. Her voice sounded strong though she looked edgy, "We have continued our training—''

"Pah! That's what they all say! That's what my soldiers used to tell me! But you can't lie to me, girl. I've seen you earthbend yesterday. Your form is weak, you have no power in your strikes and good spirits daughter, you've lost lots of muscle since I last saw you," her father rattled off.

"Oh," was the only reply Jin could offer.

"The war is at hand. It is merciless. It is vicious. It never dies. You shouldn't have been so lax. But then what can I expect from you, children? You're all a disappointing lot, so far," her father chided her sounding angry.

"I should've known better," Jin echoed almost robotically. Zuko raised a brow at her. He couldn't believe that this was the same stubborn girl who would never back down on an argument with him.

"Oh come now. They're all just teenagers. And I've seen Jin fight. She seems to be in excellent shape," Hakoda said smiling at Jin kindly. Jin gave him a weak smile in return.

Shangdi was not pleased at Hakoda's obvious jab at him and his patronizing tone. He said gruffly, "I doubt it."

He then turned to Jin and said shortly, "I expect you to be in better form by today."

And then he gobbled up his squid, gave a respectful bow to Aang and turned around and left.

* * *

Jin disappeared almost immediately after her dad left. She claimed that she was no longer hungry and that she at lots of dinner the night before. Everyone stared after her despondent form as she stalked off. Not a single person said a word for a good thirty minutes. Zuko in particular had no idea what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to go after her? Comfort her? Or just…leave her alone since she obviously did not want to talk about it? Zuko was busy contemplating on what he was supposed to do when Toph spoke up, "Boy, what a jerk."

"Well…he seems….scary," Sokka offered as soon as he was finished with his bowl.

"Eh. What can you expect? He's a war dad, kid. I guess you can't stop war from spilling over to family life," Chit Sang shrugged as he ate more noodles. He was obviously very hungry and appreciative of food that wasn't from the prison kitchen.

"My dad's in war and he never behaves like that," Katara pointed out significantly.

"I don't know. Guess not all fathers can handle things like your dad," Chit Sang said.

"Still, I can't believe Jin and her dad are actually related," Aang said.

"At least he treats you nicely," Sokka said referring to Shangdi's really good treatment of Aang.

Aang sheepishly ducked his head.

Zuko didn't participate in the conversation which was slowly blossoming because he didn't feel like talking about his girlfriend, especially since she seemed to be really shaken up. Toph on the other hand remained unusually quiet after she made that comment. Jin was upset and she was hiding something. She could feel her hastened heartbeat a mile away and they pulsated in her feet in such a glaring way. Toph had to get to the bottom of this.

And plus, she had never been more insulted her whole life. Her father basically told Jin that she was a sloppy Earthbender and that was the same as insulting Toph's handiwork. Most of Jin's training fell to her now; ever since they met and for her father to just go and tell her that it was so obvious that she wasn't properly trained put a big, huge dent in Toph's ego as a Sifu.

As soon as breakfast was finished, Toph, to everyone's surprise, declared that Aang was free from training today and that Zuko and Katara could split their time between him. She then, hurried off to go look for Jin. It was a little difficult finding her. She couldn't feel Jin anywhere in the temple. She came across her father who was busy training and Toph shot him a pointed look, annoyed seeing that he was actually a very good bender, before stalking off to go look for Jin some more. Finally, after many hours of searching she found Jin outside the Western Air Temple, on a cliff that jutted just ahead of the Western Air Temple.

She couldn't see Jin, obviously. But she could feel her. Toph could feel her uneven footsteps, clumsy and awkward strikes and shaky countenance. Toph could feel Jin's nervous heartbeat pounding all the way to armor of her skin. Toph could feel all the raw emotion and bitterness and sadness and fear injected in her every single movement. Toph frowned. Jin was never this overly-emotional when she trained nor was she this horrible. She was always focused and well prepared. It was as if she never learned any of the drills Toph taught her. It was as if they were right back to square one.

"Aargh!"

A frustrated growl ripped through the air.

"Hey, Smiley! What was that? What happened to everything I taught you?" Toph demanded as she stomped over towards Jin.

She couldn't see the expression in Jin's face but she felt her surprise at Toph's arrival. She said nothing for awhile and Toph tapped her foot impatiently. Finally, Jin gave a weary sigh and said in a hollow voice, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? What kind of answer is that?" Toph said.

"I feel like my game's thrown off…I just can't…I just can't…get it anymore!" Jin said her voice cracking a little. Toph could feel her frustration.

"Oh, please, Smiley. We all know the reason why. _Focus._ You need to focus. Something's pulling your leg," Toph declared as she stomped over towards Jin.

"I—''

"And why are you doing this drill? I already taught you this, weeks ago and you already mastered it!" Toph snapped after realizing that Jin was still performing the drill.

"Because my performance in this drill isn't good enough!" Jin said.

"Hey! I'm your Sifu and I'm the only one allowed to say when something's good enough or not!" Toph scowled.

"Well, my dad says it's not good enough," Jin muttered.

"Well, he's your _dad_, not your Sifu. And besides, what was his business calling my training sloppy? I don't care if he's some bigshot Earth Kingdom soldier or whatever! My student's training is my business and no one else's!" Toph barked and ranted as Jin continued with her drill.

"Yeah…" she said quietly as she made a high kick. She lost her balance and nearly fell. Toph could hear her feet skid against the ground.

Toph squared her shoulders. Something was bothering her student and she wanted to figure out what it was and how she could fix it. She was never one to be gentle and light when it came to confronting problems. She was blunt and she did things head-on. Jin obviously wanted to avoid confrontation. Well, Toph wasn't that kind of person. Toph breathed in deeply, ready to give Jin a little taste of tough love.

Toph said snippily, "Hey, Smiley! Put a little more strength into that kick and reign in your balance—''

"I'm trying okay? But nothing's ever good enough! I can't do a proper form, I can't do a proper strike, I can't do a proper stance, I can't do this, I can't do that! Nothing I do is ever right!" Jin said her voice rising a little. Toph stepped back, a little flabbergasted.

Jin then continued on hysterically, "I'm so sorry if I can't master that drill or if I can't hunt properly or if I can't play earth soccer or rough it up—''

"I never asked you to play earth soccer—''

"—and I'm sorry if I throw like a girl because the reason why I throw like a girl is because I am a girl, dad!" Jin exploded and she slipped once again in her drill. Toph stared at her with her blank eyes, a little shell-shocked. Toph could feel Jin's heart furiously pounding against her chest in the one minute silence that expanded after Jin's outburst. Jin began to kick at the dirt on the ground.

"Dad?" Toph questioned.

Finally, Jin schooled her features and voice and she tried to say in a calm manner, "I—I'm sorry. I'm just a little out of sorts today."

Toph could've said its okay. Toph could've just nodded and turned around and leave. Toph could've just gone on pretending that things were fine. But Toph wasn't like that. She was very straight to the point. Perhaps, she was a little too harsh. She does need to reign herself in sometimes.

"I'm sorry," she said in such a way that it seemed to contain two meanings.

"Its fine," Jin said in a tight voice.

Toph wasn't sure what she was supposed to say next. She decided to be as honest as possible. Bluntly and a little sympathetically, she said, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Jin continued on with her drill silently.

"You don't have to be afraid or scared to admit that not everything in life is perfect. That not everything isn't the bright and happy place you want it to be. It's okay to admit that you're angry and a little scared at the people you love sometimes," Toph said.

Silence.

"You can't keep dodging problems like these. You can't keep putting up a happy face. It's not healthy. It's not the Earthbender way. You have to go on and face these problems head-on. Otherwise, it's going to mess you up," Toph said.

She could hear a soft and quiet sound patter through the air.

Were those tears?

Toph couldn't be too sure. She wasn't too good with feeling or hearing little things such as tears.

"We understand," she continued quietly.

"Thanks. But I have to practice now," Jin said in a strangled voice.

Toph stood still and decided not to pursue the topic any longer. In an effort to break the tension, she said in a more lighthearted voice, "Come on, Smiley! Let's put you back into shape! I'll teach that wartime ding-dong to criticize my training!"

Toph offered her hand and Jin shakily took it.

* * *

"Hey, Sparky! Snoozles!" Toph called out to Sokka and Zuko. Zuko seemed to have lost any enthusiasm he had in training Aang and he immediately dismissed Aang from having to repeat the drill three more times after deciding that he was too distracted to train his student. Sokka just had nothing to do in general. Suki was out doing her Kyoshi training and she wanted to stay focused so she sent Sokka out to do "man" things with his buddies. Sokka, deciding that hanging out with Zuko was much more fun than hanging out with Haru, the Duke and Teo, caught up with the former prince of the Fire Nation.

The two were talking about which has the better navy, the Fire Nation or the Water Tribe, when Toph called them. The two looked up as Toph stomped her way towards them looking worried and little miffed. Zuko and Sokka immediately stopped their debate and listened as Toph rattled, "I need you to take Jin out to town!"

"Huh?" Sokka said cluelessly.

"You obviously have nothing better to do. I need you guys to take her out to town," Toph declared.

"Why?" Zuko asked, concerned.

"I don't know if you've noticed but—''

"If you're talking about the fact that she turned into a zombie overnight, then yes. Me and Zuko noticed," Sokka said as he sat up.

"Did she tell you anything about her…um…dad?" Zuko asked cautiously.

"No. She's being her usual optimistic self. I swear, she's in denial," Top said sounding frustrated that she hadn't been able to get Jin to open up.

"I thought you guys were training," Zuko frowned.

"Oh yeah…and about that…it would probably take a wrench for you to pry her out of her training. She wants to impress her jerk daddy but obviously she's not focused enough. I've never seen her this _bad._ That's why I need you guys to take her out to town. To make her forget. Cheer her up a little bit. You know…loosen her up," Toph said as she frowned.

"Alright. Come on, Sokka," Zuko said, anxious to see his girlfriend and to make her feel better.

"How about you Toph?" Sokka asked before Zuko and him scrambled off. To Zuko's surprise and Sokka's nonchalance, Toph gave a small blush. He raised his good brow.

Toph looked away embarrassed before saying, "I can't. I might as well train Twinkletoes since Sparky here, bailed on him. I can't leave the Sugar Queen and him alone now can't I?"

* * *

They managed to convince Jin to go to town with them under the pretense that Katara sent them out to get some supplies and that she only trusted Jin enough to pick quality meat. Jin seemed relatively suspicious and she refused to go with them up until she fouled a move in the drill for the fifth time and was so frustrated with her horrible training that she sighed and grudgingly told them that she will go. She seemed eager to leave the temple in a more subdued manner but as usual, nothing went as planned. As they were trying to sneak out they encountered Jin's dad who demanded to know where she was going and who wasn't all too pleased with her answer. He roughly berated her, telling her that she was lazy and complacent and that she was ditching training once again. Zuko made a very brash comment that sparked Shangdi's temper and Sokka had to calm him down to keep him from going crazy on Jin's father. Things steadily went downhill from then.

Jin was much unfocused and very disconnected as they shopped around town, ticking off from the completely imagined list that Katara supposedly gave them. She just nodded absently as Sokka continued to crack his jokes and as Zuko tried to coax her back into enthusiasm. She muttered a quick yes or no as Sokka and Zuko began to examine different cuts of meat. It was as if she wasn't on earth right now. Like her consciousness was off floating somewhere else. Zuko decided that of course, it was because she was thinking of a lot of things but he really wants her to just feel better and so far, it seemed as if he wasn't doing a very good job at it.

After going around in circles and generally buying nothing, Zuko decided that maybe they should just leave. They've accomplished nothing and Jin seemed more down than she did before.

"Hey, are you…um…okay?" Zuko asked as Sokka scuttled off, completely distracted with a stall that sold stain removers.

"Yeah….I'm just a little…off," Jin said quietly.

"I noticed," Zuko smirked.

"I bet you did," Jin said as she cracked a small smile though she still looked sad.

"Is there…any reason why you're a little off?" Zuko asked trying to sound comforting. Sokka, after being enraptured by the stain remover stall, had caught up with them. He was on the verge of babbling again when he realized that Jin and Zuko were in the middle of a really serious conversation.

"Okay. Don't mind me. I'm just here…looking at the pavement," Sokka said loudly as he looked away though it was very obvious that he was clearly still listening.

Jin sighed and shook her head.

"You want to talk about it?" Zuko asked.

Jin looked away.

"You know—'' Sokka spoke up. Zuko frowned at him.

"—my dad always tells me that you shouldn't try to carry a problem on your own," he finished as he countered Zuko's annoyed look.

Jin looked slightly hesitant but after a few minutes of silence she said uncertainly, "It's just that…I don't know. I'm just _surprised_ I guess. It's been a long time since I last saw my father."

"How long has it been?" Zuko asked a little cautiously. He didn't want to be too intruding, especially if she had no plans to share.

"Months. Weeks. Days. I don't know. It's just been a really long time," Jin said absentmindedly. She still looked guarded though she seemed a little ready to open up a bit.

"Oh—''

"Memories of my dad seem so far away. I think I've forgotten….forgotten what he was like a little bit. Maybe that was why I'm a little…." Jin looked away trying to find the right adjective to describe what she was feeling. "…._startled_…er…overwhelmed by his return. I don't know. I really just don't…understand anything…."

She sighed heavily and she looked deep in thought.

"Funny. I've never heard you talk about your dad that much," Sokka said. He just couldn't help adding that in.

Jin started to look uncomfortable.

Sokka continued ramble obliviously, "I mean he literally came out of nowhere. I've heard you talk about your mom but I've never heard you talk about him—''

"Okay, we get it Sokka," Zuko said as soon as he realized that Jin was looking more and more uncomfortable.

"Oh. Sorry," Sokka said after realizing the discomfort he was giving Jin.

"It's okay…Sokka. It's not a big deal," Jin said though the emotion that fluctuated from her voice didn't exactly match her statements. Zuko decided to break the tension as he spied a coconut bar stall. He immediately recalled how much Jin loved coconut bars and he quickly suggested that they buy some. Sokka, upon hearing the word coconut bars was immediately on board. Zuko looked at Jin, searching for approval and he was rewarded with her first genuine smile of the day.

After they had bought their coconut bars (Zuko bought one too despite the fact he despised the taste) things became more lighthearted and Jin was on the verge of having a happy conversation when she paused and became rigid. Zuko frowned and Sokka stared at her curiously as she stopped walking and froze in her place. She looked startled as if she saw something shocking and then her eyes promptly narrowed.

"Jin?" Zuko asked concerned.

Sokka began to poke her, "Hey, are you okay—''

"Come on!" Jin declared as she hurtled forwards and started to sprint forward. Zuko was a little surprised but he quickly matched Jin's pace stride for stride while Sokka lumbered on behind him.

Zuko had no idea what was going on with Jin or why she suddenly decided to run a marathon when he noticed that they were following a man who had a hood drawn across her face. Zuko had no idea what his relevance to them was but he understood that this was obviously important to Jin. They continued to follow him and it seemed obvious that he was aware of their presence because he began to run at the most difficult routes. In the amount of time they had spent chasing him, they had gone through alleyways and stalls and carts.

Finally, after realizing that Sokka was losing his wind, Jin spoke up, "Wait! Ge Jiang!"

In a softer voice she said, "It is you….isn't it?"

Zuko froze and his blood suddenly felt heavy like lead as he watched as the hooded man turned around, drew his hood back and said, "Jin?"

Before Zuko had time to see Jin's reaction he suddenly felt something hard hit him on his knees causing him to topple over. Then everything went black as he felt something hit his face. He heard a scream ripple, an angry grunt and Sokka yelling, "Whoa!"

"_You!_ What is _he_ doing here?" Ge Jiang roared, sounding enraged as he stomped towards Zuko looking annoyed.

"Hey! What's going on in here?" Sokka yelled.

" Ge Jiang…don't—''

Ge Jiang swung a punch towards Zuko and Zuko quickly caught his balled fists. Ge Jiang glared at him and hissed, "_You_….you _ruined_ our lives!"

He kneed Zuko but Zuko was more than prepared and he caught his balance. He didn't fight back because he knew that it would upset Jin and well, it was sort of his fault why the Resistance crumbled. But he most certainly was not going to become Ge Jiang's punching bag.

"I didn't do anything—''

"You betrayed us! You betrayed the Resistance! You betrayed my sister!" Ge Jiang growled as he swung another punch at Zuko. Rock spires began to emerge from the ground and as Ge Jiang made a quick slicing gesture they sprung up and nearly hit Zuko. Giving in into his fighting instincts he quickly blew a spurt of fire that blocked his rock spires. Ge Jiang narrowly dodged them and sent an earth wall towards Zuko when Jin suddenly screamed, "Stop it! Stop it right now!"

"Alright everybody…let's all just calm down…." Sokka declared in a soothing voice as he tried to get everyone to stop fighting.

Ge Jiang didn't listen and as he had finally sized Zuko up and gotten his wind in the battle because in there quick movements he managed to hook Zuko's shoulder with his left hand, cause himt o trip on a small rock spire and pinned him on the wall with a rock spike. Zuko of course, lost his temper and retaliated, sending spurts of fire everywhere. A small stream lightly grazed Ge Jiang's arm.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to look me in the eye after the way you've treated my sister!" Ge Jiang hissed as he and Zuko continued to wrestle.

"I don't have to have the nerve for anything…" Zuko snapped back.

"Stop it! Zuko! Ge Jiang! Would you please just stop it! I'm seeing you for the first time in months and you're just acting crazy!" Jin screeched as she tried to break the two apart.

"Jin!" Ge Jiang breathed as he examined his sister, finally realizing that this was supposed to be a happy family reunion not a murderous affair where he conks Zuko. He seemed torn, like he couldn't decide whether he should hug his sister or whether he should continue killing Zuko.

He suddenly hugged his sister and said in a choking and strangled voice, "Jin. I've missed you."

"Me too," Jin said as her voice struggled to keep its calm.

Ge Jiang stared at his sister and looked at her for a long time, as if she was trying to memorize her facial features. She looked haggard and so much more mature. Gone were her carefree smile and demeanor and radiant skin. He said a little sadly, "You look so different. You've changed."

"You too," Jin said as her voice cracked. Zuko stared at them in shock. Jin and Ge Jiang argued and as far as he was concerned, Ge Jiang was her least favorite sibling. This was the first time wherein they actually didn't try to kill each other. But perhaps she just really missed him. And she was right. It broke her heart to see how much Ge Jiang changed since the fall of Ba Sing Se. His hair grew longer and wilder, his skin had become more tanned and dry underneath the harsh Fire Nation sun and he had lost his cool and calm demeanor. Instead it was replaced with a slightly crazed and maniacal stare.

"You're hurt," Jin said as soon as she saw that his hand was wrapped and bandaged. The cloth that covered it started to look gross and disgusting. It was damp and moist and it was riddled with dirt.

"Yeah….a little souvenir from the Fire Nation," Ge Jiang said as he glared at Zuko.

After being reminded of how horrible the Fire Nation was his happiness quickly morphed into anger and he subsequently said, "What is he doing here? Why is he still with you!"

He sounded angry and slightly betrayed.

"Ge Jiang…Zuko's good—''

"Oh, so you're calling him with his real name now? Or is that even his real name?" Ge Jiang sneered.

"Um…who's that?" Sokka whispered as he helped Zuko up.

"Jin's brother," Zuko muttered as he looked down.

"I'm getting the vibe that he doesn't like you very much," Sokka chortled.

"Don't we all?" Zuko mumbled.

"I don't' want him anywhere near you!" Ge Jiang snapped.

Jin defiantly raised her chin and snapped, "I can do and be with whoever I want!"

"What's he doing here?" Ge Jiang demanded.

"He's here because I want him to be here!" Jin snapped, her relieved expression quickly curdling.

"Don't tell me that you're still with this clown! Did he do anything to you? Did he touch you?" Ge Jiang demanded worriedly.

"He did nothing to me! Ge Jiang, he's good now…" Jin insisted.

"Oh please," Ge Jiang snorted.

"He's not the person that he was, Ge Jiang! He's on our side now!" Jin said as she tried to keep her brother from pummeling Zuko.

"Are you forgetting that that's what he made us believe before completely selling us out to the Fire Nation!" Ge Jiang said in rage as he broke free from his sister's grasp and headed towards Zuko who faced him calmly. This achieved nothing but made Zuko feel crummier. As if it wasn't enough that Jin's dad who really hated him was there. He also had to deal with her brother. Who also hated him.

Ge Jiang was ready to sock him when Sokka spoke up frantically, "Hey, it's all true man. Zuko's in the side of good. Believe me, I couldn't believe it either."

"Well, I'll _never _believe it. You're a liar and a traitor! You deserve to be castrated and to have your spleen gutted!" Ge Jiang snapped as he tried to make a lunge towards Zuko. Zuko glared at him and felt ready to throw a punch.

"Ge Jiang! Stop it! Zuko! Stop! _Just stop_! For me! _Please,"_ Jin screeched as she tried to stop her brother and her boyfriend from causing a scene.

"I don't want him near you Jin. I don't want him near us. I don't trust him," Ge Jiang growled.

"Hey, it's all really cool. I mean aside from the fact that he's a total jerk sometimes—''

"Hey—'' Zuko protested, glaring at Sokka.

"—he's cool. He even agreed to teach Aang firebending. Now helping the Avatar is pretty much the best good deed I know," Sokka said.

"Wait—he's teaching the Avatar. You've met the Avatar?" Ge Jiang asked looking awed and excited as he stared at Jin.

"Yes, and Zuko is Aang's firebending teacher," Jin said as she forced a smile. She smiled proudly at Zuko.

Ge Jiang glared at Zuko, daring him to say otherwise but when Zuko merely replied with a smug smirk, Ge Jiang was forced to stop trying to kill him. He stepped back and gave a small growl as Jin gave a bright smile; looking the happiest she's been in days. Quickly, she said, "Come on. Let's get to camp. Freshen you up a bit. And maybe we should take care of your wounds."

"Boy, this is one crazy day. A whole family reunion! Your dad will be so surprised," Sokka said as Jin tried to keep Ge Jiang and Zuko apart.

"What? Dad's here?" Ge Jiang said looking surprised but looking the farthest from pleased.

"Um…" Jin began.

"Yep. I could definitely see the family resemblance. The angry glare and fiery temper is hard to miss," Sokka jokingly said as he elbowed Ge Jiang. Ge Jiang snorted.

"But…but…that can't be! He was in the Boiling Rock when I left him! He didn't make it out with me!" Ge Jiang said hysterically. He sounded proud of himself when he mentioned that he left his dad behind in the boiling rock. Zuko was starting to think that Jin wasn't the only one who was unhappy with her dad's arrival.

"Ge Jiang, they…he…he got out," Jin said looking a little afraid.

"What? And he's in camp? He's in camp with you?" Ge Jiang said sounding angry.

"We busted him out," Zuko grudgingly added.

"Why? Is that a bad thing?" Sokka asked.

Ge Jiang looked livid. Then after a few minutes, he sighed and said in a tone as if he was accepting a particularly horrible fact, "No. I guess there's nothing we can do about it but go through with it."

He then scowled and stomped away leaving Zuko to wonder what was so horrible about their father being there.

* * *

For some insane reason, neither Ge Jiang nor Jin wanted to alert their father on Ge Jiang's presence. The two immediately hurried off to a corner dragging along Katara after a quick introduction to everyone else. Apparently their father was out training and hunting. Katara asked if they wanted to see him but Ge Jiang impatiently shook his head and declared that he would just like to rest and tend to his wounds first.

They met Aang on the way and Ge Jiang was ecstatic. He bowed and bowed and shook Aang's hand and told Aang that he was the Avatar's biggest hand. Jin had to pry him away so that they could immediately tend to his wounds.

Jin unwrapped his bandage and she was disgusted to see that his wound was turning into a sickly yellow and green color. Jin nearly puked but Katara who was much more used to seeing wounds such as these merely looked at it with a critical eye. She slathered on some herbs and instructed Sokka to gather water from the nearby well.

Katara kneeled before him and waterbent a small sliver of water around his hand. Ge Jiang gave a small gasp but he complained no more.

Katara sighed and said sadly, "I'm sorry. It won't heal."

Jin stared at Katara and said, "You can't do anything at all?"

"It's beyond healing now. This is usually what happens when you keep a wound like this untreated and wrapped in a well…dirty and damp bandage," Katara said as she paused from the waterbending.

"It's alright. I've got worse wounds," Ge Jiang grumbled as he sat up trying to shoo everyone away.

"Where have you been? Have you seen He Shen? They say you met…dad," Jin said as she began (at Katara's instruction) to make a new bandage by tearing strips of cloth.

"Where do you think? After _he_—'' Ge Jiang sent a glare at Zuko who quickly returned it. "—betrayed all of us and sold us out to his sister, I opened a tunnel and tried to get some civilians out. Dai Li found us though. Rounded up the civilians and all the Resistance members. I expected to be in the same prison cell as them but surprisingly they took me to this place in the middle of a really hot lake—''

"The boiling rock," Zuko nodded.

Ge Jiang wrinkled his nose and said, "_Yes._ That's it. The Boiling Rock. I think it was because I was a leader. Anyways, I met lots of people there. I met Liangqiang there. Also Zhi. They say Dui passed away—''

"Really?" Jin said looking sad. Zuko had no idea who those people were.

"Yeah. Fever. Bad working conditions. You get the picture. And I also met…." Ge Jiang paused and looked hesitant.

"Your dad?" Sokka spoke up.

Ge Jiang froze and looked deep in thought. Finally, he declared, "Yeah. Dad. I met dad there too."

Jin looked away and said, "He said you told him about the rebellion in Ba Sing Se."

"Yeah," Ge Jiang grumbled as Katara began to bandage his hand.

"Thanks for…you know…not telling him," Jin said referring to the fact that her brother didn't tell her dad that it was all her fault that the Resistance fell. Katara, Aang, Toph and Sokka were absolutely clueless as to what was happening right now.

"Yeah. I didn't think that he really needed to know," Ge Jiang said absentmindedly.

"Did you meet He Shen? Did you hear about him?" Jin asked.

"No. I haven't heard from him at all. Last I heard he was in Sozin islands," Ge Jiang said vacantly.

Jin tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and said, "I hope he's okay….I don't want anything bad to happen to him—''

"Can I talk with you for a minute?" Ge Jiang suddenly said looking serious.

Jin gave a nod speechlessly.

"_Alone_," Ge Jiang said as he eyed everyone.

He then grabbed his sister's arm and dragged her away, behind a pillar.

"We shouldn't," Katara said as soon as she saw the look on everyone else's face.

As usual, everyone ignored her and they all but Zuko scrambled towards the pillar, listening in as Jin and Ge Jiang started to talk.

* * *

"What is he doing here?" Ge Jiang demanded as soon as he was sure that no one was listening. He looked as if he was on the verge of hysterics.

"I already told you. Zuko and Sokka—''

"I knew that Firebending scum had something to do with this—''

"Ge Jiang, he didn't know—''

"Jin, I just can't—can't handle him right now. I thought that I would never have to deal with him ever again—''

From behind the pillar, Sokka, Toph and Aang craned their necks to hear more. They could hear Ge Jiang making a choking sound. Aang cautiously stuck his head out and saw that he was running his hand through his hair in frustration. Jin wasn't looking him in the eye and she was wringing her hands.

"Do you know what I had to go through for the past few weeks? I was tortured into oblivion and I was stuck with dad for weeks and weeks!" Ge Jiang said as he began to pace forwards and backwards.

"I'm sorry Ge Jiang," Jin said in a strangled voice.

"And how can you act so calmly about this? How can you allow him to stay!" Ge Jiang screeched as he whirled around and faced his sister who was on the verge of crying out.

In their places, Sokka, Toph and Aang were beginning to realize that they were intruding into a really big family issue and they started to feel really uncomfortable. Still, they were a little eager and curious to understand what was going on. The three of them backed away a little bit, only to be pushed forward by Katara and Zuko who said, "Hey, you guys started it. Might as well finish it."

The group then listened as Jin answered, "Because he's our father Ge Jiang! He's our dad. What do you want me to do?"

"We're a mess. We're such a mess. Our brother's missing and our dad's back. I don't know if I can deal with it anymore," Ge Jiang said as he began to pace back and forth.

"Ge Jiang, please don't make a big deal out of it okay? You know dad. He won't stay long," Jin said as she tried to calm her brother down.

"He shouldn't even be here at all!" Ge Jiang roared as he struggled to calm himself down.

"Stop making a scene!" Jin snapped. She then turned around and said, "We shouldn't talk about it right now, okay?"

"Is this how it's always going to be? Are we supposed to just never talk about it? Are we supposed to just ignore every bad thing that's happened to us like we have been doing for the past few years!" Ge Jiang said as he spreads his arms.

"You're being overdramatic! Please, Ge Jiang. Can you just be nice for one second?" Jin pleaded.

"He has never been nice to us Jin. Not when we were kids, not when mom was here, not when we were teenagers. Not once. _Not ever._ Why should I be nice to him, huh, Jin? I'm sick and tired of always having to put up with him and his—''

"Ge Jiang, you don't know what he's been through! War's done something to him. It's not fault," Jin said as her voice raised octaves higher.

"That's no excuse for the way he treats us!" Ge Jiang snapped. He then stomped towards her and said, "Why are you always trying to stick up for him?"

Jin couldn't answer and although she was staring at him with as much defiance she could muster she suddenly looked fragile and scared. Zuko could barely contain himself. He rushed towards her and wrapped an arma round her shoulder, glared at Ge Jiang and said, "Look, she doesn't want to talk about this."

"How is this any of your business?" Ge Jiang hissed as he advanced towards Zuko threateningly.

"Boy?"

Ge Jiang paused mid-step as the gravelly voice pounded through the air. Aang cautiously stuck his head out of the pillar and saw Shangdi walking towards them. Ge Jiang looked like a string that had unraveled. Like a scared little boy, he yelped and gave a very low bow. Jin did the same and they didn't stand up until their father gruffly said, "Boy, you look weak since I last saw you."

Ge Jiang nodded limply.

"Father," Ge Jiang said.

He then roughly forced Ge Jiang to stand up by grabbing his collar and in a frighteningly calm voice he said, "Don't think I've forgotten that you left me in the boiling rock on purpose boy. I _never _forget."

Jin's head spun and she lost a breath as Ge Jiang shuddered and squirmed. Ge Jiang however stopped moving and he faced his father with an angry glare.

"Um…everyone! Let's have dinner, shall we?" Aang said as he rushed towards Shangdi and Ge Jiang.

Shangdi, after realizing that the Avatar was there quickly schooled his features and said, "Of course Avatar."

And with that he dropped his son and walked away leaving a very angry looking Ge Jiang.

* * *

Dinner was very tense and uncomfortable. Jin, Ge Jiang and Shangdi all sat in one corner though the three of them looked the farthest from being a happy family. Ge Jiang looked furious and embarrassed at his father's treatment of him. He looked like he was on the verge of turning at his father and punching the daylights out of him. However, Zuko could see that he was afraid because whenever he was on the verge of doing something he would immediately pause and look away.

Zuko wished that Jin would just tell him what was going on. He knew. He understood what she was going through. He had a horrible father too who burned half his face off. He couldn't understand why Jin and her brother were so reluctant in talking about it.

But he understood Jin a little bit more. She was unfailingly optimistic. So optimistic that it was to the point of denial. Zuko knew how that felt like. He wasn't the type of person to share his problems or his emotions to other people. And Jin was like that. She just masked her sadness with extreme happiness while Zuko did so with anger and his temperamental outbursts.

"I saw you training today," Shangdi suddenly spoke up from the din of silence.

Jin flinched.

"You were horrible. Fouled every single move. Don't know how I could even be related to you," Shangdi rumbled. Zuko cringed. Ouch. That was painful.

Ge Jiang's hands, which were holding a small, ceramic bowl, gripped it tightly. Toph was ready to say something scathing no doubt but Shangdi beat her to it.

"I honestly don't know why you children insist on falling off your training. Especially you Ge Jiang. You're the eldest. I expect you to be better," he roughly said.

"Yes, father," Ge Jiang said through gritted teeth.

"Instead you become bums and start slacking off. Start ruining the family name," Shangdi continued on.

"Now wait just a minute! These kids are good kids. I've seen Jin. And I've heard about her brother. They seem to have their head in the right place," Hakoda immediately spoke up.

Shangdi snorted and said, "Last time I checked, you weren't there father."

Hakoda's eyes narrowed at him as Shangdi babbled on, "You're turning into your brother. The second one. Always going on and on about his damned music—''

Another collective gasp for his bad language.

"—Music is for weaklings! I always tried to weed it out of the boy. It's not good. It's not manly. I'm so sorry I allowed his mother to encourage him," Shangdi said speaking to no one in particular.

"Now their mother…she's the one I blame for all this nonsense going on with my kids. Ask Jin over there. That's why, as I have come to realize, why Jin is so weak. Can't even hunt a proper stag-monkey—''

"That's because she's a _girl_ dad. You can't treat her like me and Shen. It's a little difficult hunting for a stag-monkey when it's twice her size," Ge Jiang said through gritted teeth.

"Did I ask for you to speak, boy? And don't get smart with me. I haven't forgotten that stunt you pulled in the boiling rock," Shangdi said threateningly as Jin cringed. Ge Jiang however was struggling to keep his tongue and temper in check. Zuko was struggling with the same thing. He desperately wanted to punch Jin's father. If only his princely decorum and the fact that Jin was here weren't there to contribute to his decision.

"Anyways, her mother was a total weakling. Always going on and on about peace. If peace was possible then I'm a rooster-pig. I'm so sorry I allowed her to coddle my children—especially Jin. Turned them into saps," Shangdi said.

Jin, to the surprise of her brother said, "Don't talk about her in that way."

"What?"

"Don't talk about mom in that way," Jin said her voice growing agitated.

"And don't talk to me in that way, girl. Or have you forgotten that I'm your father—''

"Shut up," Ge Jiang snapped.

Silence.

Everyone held their breaths for the explosion that was about to happen.

"What was that boy?" Shangdi hissed.

"Shut up," Ge Jiang said, enunciating every word.

"Don't you dare talk to me in that way, you little piece of—'' Shangdi made a move to punch Ge Jiang but Ge Jiang grabbed his hand and defiantly gazed back up to his father.

"I can talk to you in anyway because you don't deserve my respect!" Ge Jiang spat.

"Ge Jiang….please…" Jin murmured.

"I'm so sick and tired of the way you treat us. I'm so sick and tired of pretending that everything is okay!" Ge Jiang roared as his father stood up in rage.

"Don't you dare talk to me in that tone boy! Especially since you and you're siblings have disgraced yourself in every single way possible by—''

"By what? By not being good enough! By losing the Ba Sing Se rebellion! You don't need to tell us that dad! We know already! We know we're not good enough!" Ge Jaing roared.

"Silence—''

"_I will not be silenced!_ I will not be submitted into fear like I have been for the past twenty years of my life! If you think that I'm going to allow you to hurt me and my siblings one more time—''

"Ge Jiang, stop it! Just please, stop it!" Jin screamed, finally breaking out.

"I think we all just need to calm down," Hakoda said as he placed a hand on Jin's shoulder.

"Listen to your sister, boy…" Shangdi menacingly said.

"Dad's just trying to—'' Jin began but Ge Jiang whirled around and screeched.

"Why do you keep defending him Jin? _Why?_ He's been nothing but horrible to us Jin! He beat you! He beat Shen! He beat me! He beat mom!"

"I never touched you're mother!" Shangdi screamed.

"Yes, you did! And I'm not going to stand by and watch you ruin our lives all over again! _I'm not_. Jin, we can't just keep going on as if nothing's wrong. That's what mom did. That was mom's biggest mistake," Ge Jiang said.

"You have no idea what I have gone through for you ungrateful children! You have any idea how painful war is! How it could break a man!" Shangdi roared. He looked like he was itching to beat Ge Jiang but the Avatar's presence stopped him.

"That's no excuse for the way you've been treating us! We've been good children to you! We have done nothing—''

"You are disrespectful children—''

"I'm done with you. I'm done with all of this! I'm not the scared little boy that I once was, dad. I could fight against you! I could defend my siblings now! I don't have to watch you helplessly as you beat them from the sidelines," Ge Jaing roared and it was as if a small tremor echoed through the entire pagoda.

"You're a horrible father and you deserve to rot in prison!" Ge Jiang snapped as he pointed at Shangdi.

Jin tried to raise her voice as she feebly said, "Ge Jiang…just stop it—''

"You stop it, Jin! Stop defending him! You're either with me or with him! But I'm not going to take another moment of his dung!" Ge Jiang snarled and with that he glared at his father before rushing off.

Shangdi stared after his son and gave an angry roar. A huge tremor shook the pagoda. He then scowled and left in the other direction.

Jin watched in horror as her family started to break apart. She always believed that things could be fixed. That nothing in the world was unfixable. That included her family and her dad. Her dad had been through so much in the war and she understood that war could break a man. She understood why he was so temperamental sometimes. She understood why he was never there most of the times. She understood why he beat her and her brothers all the time.

Her mother always told her the yielding was more difficult than fighting. It was difficult becoming the smaller person in the conflict. It was difficult saying nothing. But yielding kept the family together. It kept them together. And Jin understood that in this situation it would be her that would have to yield.

She is the one that would have to understand her father. She is the one who would have to be patient. But she's been having a really rough time lately.

She could have kept a lot, pent up inside. She was used to it. She could always laugh off every bad situation. There was always a bright side to things as far as she was concerned and every mistake, every bad event could be chalked up to a learning experience. She was an expert when it came to living in an obscenely, ridiculous state of denial.

But her brother yelling and her father on the verge of violence were too much to bear. Jin bit her lip and struggled to keep her optimism. She should think positively. There's always a bright side to every bad thing. Happy thoughts. Happy memories. Funny things. Her mom. She should think about those things. They make her happy.

Happy.

The word felt so contrived and so ridiculous to Jin's ears.

Her father was a violent man who beat his children and his wife. Her only family was no broken beyond repair. Her mother is dead.

Her mother is dead.

She rushed away from the campfire. Away from everyone.

On her way she met Ge Jiang who was staring at picture in his hands.

Their family picture. With her violent father. Angry brother. Missing brother.

Dead mother.

Jin burst into sobs.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Jin asked her brother in a cracked voice as he packed. Her eyes were red. Her skin was pale. And she absolutely hated it. She hated crying in front of other people. It always made her feel vulnerable and weak.

Ge Jiang stared at the picture folded between his hands. It was all five of them. It wasn't anything grand or fancy but it was a simple family picture. Shangdi had his army uniform on and on his chests were medals. His mother stood beside him in her best silk dress and jade earrings. Jin was at the middle, kneeling in her adorable little flowery dress while Ge Jiang and He Shen were at either side. They were happy. They were smiling. He didn't understand how a family that looked this happy could turn so bitter and angry at each other. He was ashamed for upsetting his sister. But he wanted to stop being so afraid. To stop living in a shadow.

"I need to go away. To get away from him," Ge Jiang said.

"It wasn't always like this. We had happier times," Jin said as she struggled to keep herself from crying even more.

"They don't make up for the bad times," Ge Jiang said simply.

Jin hiccupped and Ge Jiang stood up and hugged his sister. He then told her, "I love you. You remind me so much of mom. You shouldn't have to deal with him."

"He's our dad. He's family," Jin said and her hand automatically went to her bruise.

"There's no more chance for him Jin. There's no more second chances for a person like him," Ge Jiang said and his voice cracked.

Jin began to cry harder.

"Mom realized…realized that. But she didn't act on it. And she was too late," Ge Jiang continued.

"No. Mom realized that we have to be a family," Jin said.

Ge Jiang told her in a slightly bitter voice, "Why can't you go with me?"

Jin simply shook her head. She suddenly felt so empty and hollow on the inside.

Ge Jiang said in a sad voice, "I have to go. I can't be around him anymore. There's no fixing things between me and dad."

Jin sniffled.

"There's no fixing between you and dad also," Ge Jiang said.

Jin shook her head and hugged her brother, "That's not true. Everyone…everyone deserves a second chances."

Ge Jiang held his sister tightly. They always argued. They never agreed. But she was his sister. And he loved her. He said as Jin silently cried, "There's no saving him, Jin. It's easier if you let go."

* * *

_HOLY COW! 16 reviews (unless I counted them wrong)! The most I've gotten in one chapter! Thanks you guys! Whoa. Major drama and angst in there. But anyways, the next chapter won't be as serious. Jin has a lot of issues to deal with. She strikes me as a person who's just a little too optimistic. As you can see, the timeline is a little deviated. Not to worry. Next would be a Southern Raiders chapter. A little more focus on Zuko. _

_Bastard and damned are not really curse words but eh...it's a rated G show. I imagine that this would be the reaction of the characters (or most children's parent's for that matter)._

_Anyways, MERRY CHISTMAS! _

_Thanks for all the reviews, story alerts and for those who added me in their favorite authors list and favorite stories list._

_Thanks to those who reviewed: SuperninjaX, Panther-Strife (zuko's life story, definitely coming up soon), tgbwe, ArrayePL, daveshan, Inhibitor (thanks a lot man!I'm glad you're so patient ), 64PageBook (why yes, in fact that was intentional. And I'm pretty decent in speaking Chinese ;)), Kaeso Corvinus (sorry about the lack of Zuko-Azula interaction. I promise there will be lots of Zuko-Azula interaction later on), Charmed-Ravenclaw (thanks for all four reviews!) and the person who wrote a review but didn't write your name._

_PLEASE keep reviewing._

_Always R and R._

_And again, expect a long waiting time for the next update. Maybe before New Year._

_Thanks for the reviews and again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!_

_:D_


	23. Part XXII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XXII_

Ge Jiang left without saying goodbye to anyone but his sister. He did meet Zuko as he scrambled away and with his good hand, he grabbed Zuko's arm and whispered, "Take care of her." He then left without saying anything more. Zuko just nodded and watched as his figure became smaller and smaller as he sped farther away from the temple. When he went back to the campfire, Katara had the brilliant suggestion of sleeping all in one circle around the fountain so they could protect each other. Zuko saw the hidden meaning behind it however. Katara missed her dad and she wanted to be close to him. Sokka missed Suki and he wanted to be close to her without raising any suspicions as to what they were _doing _all alone in one big room. Zuko wasn't sure how Jin would take it, especially after all the drama she and her family had caused tonight. He was about to protest but Jin quickly said that she was fine with it. Her little spat with her family shouldn't get in the way of what everyone wants.

Her father, who had stormed away, hadn't come back and Zuko could tell that Jin was starting to worry. Katara, Suki, Toph, Sokka and everyone else tried to comfort Jin but she kept dodging the topic. Zuko knew well enough that if Jin does not want to talk about something, then it was wise not to keep bringing it up. She would never crack until she was ready to talk about it.

Jin gave Zuko a small kiss before proceeding to her room.

Zuko went back to his room to take his blankets and pillows and bed spreads and he hurried back to the campfire to set his things. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to stay so he picked out a random spot and set his bed spread, placed his pillow and his blanket down and sat and waited.

He felt very sad. He was sad for Jin. He was sad that all along she had been carrying this. And he was sad that she still had to carry this most of all. Zuko looked at the ground and began to ponder at her situation. As far as he could understand, Jin's father was crazy and violent but she still loved him and cared about him while her elder brother did not. Zuko began to wonder how He Shen would take it. The three of them seemed so calm and at peace that it was so difficult to believe that they were in situations such as these. Back when he was in Ba Sing Se, Zuko could hardly believe that Jin could relate to what he was going through because her life just seemed so _perfect._ She was always cheerful and happy and never could he imagine that she was going through something like this.

He just wished that she would trust him enough to talk to him about it. Zuko shook his head. No, he was not going to pry. He had many things that he has yet to tell her, many secrets about his past life that he has yet to reveal. Someday, she was going to be ready to tell him. And someday, he was going to be ready to tell her too.

A soft rustle interrupted his thoughts. Zuko quickly started and he turned and saw that Jin was laying her bed spread next to him.

"Hey," Zuko said softly as he observed Jin from his placed. She had positioned her bed spread, only a few inches away from his.

Zuko began to feel slightly nervous. It just occurred to him that they might be…well…._sleeping together._ Of course, not sleeping together in _that _sense but rather they would literally be sleeping together. The prospect made him feel excited and nervous at the same time. What was he supposed to do? He absolutely had no idea. Growing up, he was very much lacking in that department. He instantly looked around to see if Jin's father was there, worried that he might get angry and go ballistic on Zuko at his and Jin's closeness.

"He's not here. He's in his room," Jin said quietly as if she read his mind.

Zuko, ashamed, quickly ducked his head sheepishly. He examined his girlfriend and he was a little disheartened to see that her eyes were red and so was her nose. Her skin looked cold and clammy and her hair was a rat's nest. All in all, she looked very forlorn and despondent. Zuko felt the desperate surge to reach out to her. To tell her that everything was going to be okay. To tell her that he understood. That he knew what she was going through.

But before he could get the words out, something held him back. He never liked to discuss his father and he wasn't sure if he knew how to explain the complicated relationship he shared with him to someone else. He wasn't even sure if he could tell Jin. He looked away. He wasn't ready yet.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Zuko asked.

"He called me just after….after…Ge Jiang left—'' Jin swallowed thickly. "—to t-tell me how…you know…disappointed he was with me and Jiang. How….rude and d-disrespectful we were."

"You weren't rude or disrespectful. You were standing up for yourselves," Zuko said comfortingly.

"Well, we did kind of step out of line…It wasn't his fault or Ge Jiang's as to why they acted that way….It's just the stress of everything lately…the war…He Shen being missing…" Jin muttered.

"Although Ge Jiang is a big jerk, he was right. You don't deserve to always live in fear. You have to fight back at some point," Zuko automatically said. His hand subconsciously rose to his scar. He quickly pulled it back after realizing that he was touching his scar with a wistful expression. He looked at Jin hoping she didn't see that.

Jin didn't notice though. She was too busy trying to fluff her already fluffed pillows. She said in a slightly shaky voice, "You don't have to worry about him being here."

She cracked a small smile as she elbowed him. She smirked, "He hates everyone except for the Avatar so I think that it's safe to say that we're allowed to be pretty comfortable tonight."

Despite his nervousness and anxiety, Zuko couldn't help but smirk back. She was finally smiling again. He leaned towards her and brushed his nose against her nose and said playfully in a husky voice, "We shouldn't get _too_ comfortable. Sokka's dad is here and he's already got his eye on Sokka and Suki…."

Zuko and Jin turned to look at Hakoda who was observing Sokka and Suki carefully. Sokka and Suki were trying their best to avoid Hakoda's gaze. The two had positioned themselves at the north eastern part of the fountain, where they could be partially hidden from Hakoda's sight.

Zuko and Jin giggled loudly and Zuko felt elated to hear her laugh again.

"Hey, everybody! Settle down. I'm about to put the fire out and you probably won't be able to see anything after I do that," Katara declared as she strode towards the campfire.

Toph snorted and said, "As if that would make any difference to me."

Everyone chuckled as they started to prepare themselves. Sokka and Suki lied down, the two of them a meter's width away from each other to appease Hakoda who had barked at them to not be so close to each other. Haru buried his head under his pillow while Teo, with some help from the Duke got out of his wheelchair and into his bed spread. Toph rolled over to the side while Aang (who wanted to sleep next to Katara but thought better of it after realizing that her dad was here) blew a small gust of air, creating a gentle breeze around the camp as he settled down.

Katara walked towards the campfire and put it out with her waterbending.

What happened next was almost instinctual and natural. Zuko settled down on his bed spread and Jin lied down next to him. Zuko placed an arm around her shoulders as she laid on his chest and snuggled closer to his side. The air was cold and Jin shivered a little. Zuko breathed a small gust of hot air unto her face and neck so she would no longer feel the sting of the cold but the nice, cozy warmth that radiated naturally through Zuko's body.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked suddenly. He was suddenly aware that Jin seemed unusually silent and she was radiating such a sad and depressed aura.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jin said in a sad and distant voice. Zuko decided right then and there that he wasn't going to ask her anymore questions. She would talk to him when she was ready. And he would be there for her when the time comes.

Zuko stroked her shoulder as he began to feel more nervous. This was the first time in which he and Jin were in such a close proximity together for a very long period of time. The thought made him feel excited and nervous at the same time. He didn't want to do anything stupid that might ruin whatever he had going on with Jin.

"Do you remember the Spring Festival in Ba Sing Se?" Jin asked suddenly.

"Yeah. I remember. You _embarrassed_ me by forcing me to dance," Zuko said as he turned to look at Jin.

"Excuse me! I was actually talking about the fact that you actually manned up and had the guts to ask me out on a real date!" Jin indignantly said.

"What are you talking about—''

"Oh come off it! You obviously liked me but up until then, you didn't have the courage to ask me out or to do anything about it!" Jin said as a teasing smile played on her lips.

It was Zuko's turn to look indignant. He said peevishly, "I…I am not! I mean…I did not!"

Jin raised a brow and said playfully, "Did not what?"

Zuko looked as if he was struggling to figure out what he wanted to say. Finally he managed to sputter, "I did not like you!"

"What?" Jin said though she didn't look angry. Instead she was laughing and trying to contain her giggles.

Zuko hurriedly said, "I mean I didn't mean it in that way. Of course I like you! I mean I really, really like you—''

Jin continued to laugh.

"—but…you know—and hey! You were the one who liked me first!" Zuko said in an accusing tone.

"But you are the only who likes me _more_!" Jin slyly said as she sat up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Guilty," Zuko breathed as he kissed her forehead and her nose.

"I thought so!" Jin said as their lips met.

"Hey, lovebirds! Keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep!" Toph barked as Zuko and Jin broke into light laughter after they kissed. She was positioned a few meters away from them.

"Sorry," Zuko whispered as he stroked Jin's hair.

"We should be more careful around Toph. She can feel _everything _you know," Jin whispered.

"I heard that, Smiley!" Toph said though she sounded amused.

Zuko and Jin broke into laughter again.

Zuko looked and examined him girlfriend and came only to one conclusion: she was so beautiful. The moon cast a faint and luminescent glow over her smooth and supple skin and her hazel-green eyes seemed to be at their greenest. They were as green as the summer and grass and as Zuko looked at her he was reminded of the way she looked back in Ba Sing Se when they first danced together. He was reminded of Ember Island and its numerous grassy fields. He was reminded of a regular Fire Nation summer day with leaves—green, green leaves—swirling in the summer breeze.

Zuko felt that he was ready to tell her a little about himself. It never occurred to him how much Jin really meant to him. Maybe he could work up the courage and guts again to tell her about his scar. He knew that she didn't know much about that. He could tell that Jin seemed to feel the same way because she was on the verge of telling him something.

But then she seemed to change her mind because she frowned and her face looked sad and distant. She was looking at something. Zuko followed her gaze. More like _someone._ In the dimness of the evening, Zuko could see Jin's father watching the two of them with utmost contempt, his tall and muscled form presiding over them threateningly.

Jin quickly scrambled back to her bed spread and she inched a little farther away from Zuko.

Zuko frowned and said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jin said in a distant and scared voice. She turned away from him and rolled to the side.

Zuko turned to her direction, wrapped his arms around her. Jin snuggled closer to him, trying to find comfort in her despair. Zuko just held her trying to keep her warm by emanating much of the body heat that just comes naturally to Firebenders. This was the closet and the longest position they've been in together. And they wanted to comfort and to let each other know that they were there for one another.

Zuko said in a re-assuring voice, "You're not alone, Jin. I know what it's like."

His hand subconsciously rose to his scar once again.

* * *

Jin looked at the dim and faint glow of the coming dawn. She had barely slept last night despite the fact that she had Zuko's arms around her and Aang was constantly snorting a cool breeze in his sleep. She was thinking about her father and her brothers and her mother. She thought about her family and how broken they were. She didn't know what to do. Her brother, Ge Jiang had made it very clear that he was through trying to work things out with Shangdi and Jin should stop holding on too. But Jin couldn't stop herself. Despite the fact that her father was very cruel and abusive, she found herself firmly believing that it wasn't his fault that he behaved in that way. The war had damaged him. And he allowed himself to be damaged to support Jin and her brothers.

Her mother always believed in the cause of family and she committed herself to keeping their family together even until she died. And Jin just felt that it would wrong her memory to not try to be a family once again. She felt that it would be what her mom would want her to do. And she felt that no one truly understood why she was being so patient with her dad. It was because she loved her mother and she didn't want to insult her memory by just giving up on their family. She wanted them to be together.

Jin pulled out, from the folds of her pockets a small bundle of cloth. She quietly broke free from Zuko's grasp and slowly started to examine it. Her father had always taught her that soldiers had to keep their personal belongings—religious items, pictures, small gifts—in a small bundle of cloth and hide it in a pocket.

This had to be done because war was treacherous and you never know, stepping into the battlefield, that this day would be your last. The personal belongings would determine who you are if you get too disfigured or if you lose your identification tag and they would be mailed with a small note about the soldier's death to the person indicated on the small piece of paper stapled to the cloth. Jin had never written a name on the paper because she had no idea who she wanted her stuff to be mailed too.

Her brothers told her a long time ago not to write their names because they would be dead too (Ge Jiang and He Shen always claimed that they were destined to die young). Jin's mother's name was written on it once but Jin quickly tore the paper out and replaced it with a new one after she died. Jin would never send it to her father because she was very afraid on what his reaction would be. Jin always felt that he never liked her.

Of course he doesn't like all three of her and her brothers in general but Jin has the feeling that he particularly dislikes her.

She once thought of putting Zuko's name on it but then she didn't like feeling as if she was doomed to die and she felt that putting his name on it would just re-enforce most of her fears. Her hand found its way to her neck. On it was a barely noticeable clay tablet with her name and a small series of number at the sides. Next to the tablet was a small piece of jade. It was jagged and uneven but it belonged to Jin's mother and she had managed to salvage it before the Fire Nation took complete control over their home. It was her most prized possession. The tables at the side were identification tablets. All soldiers had them. During the more happier and peaceful times, their father had made them each one. She knew He Shen still kept his and he still wore it around his neck, even after the Resistance fell. Ge Jiang however, stopped wearing it when he turned sixteen.

Jin should've known that an altercation between Ge Jiang and her father would happen soon. The signs were all there.

Jin wanted to talk about it. But she didn't know how to. She felt alone and she felt like no one could really understand what she was going through. Katara and Sokka had a wonderful father who continually supported them and loved them. Toph's relationship with her parents' was not so good but their issue was a different matter; Toph was mad at their over protectiveness. Aang never had a father, he was raised by monks. She could tell Zuko but…Jin sighed. She didn't know how to tell him. She didn't how to talk about it with him. Could he understand? She wasn't so sure.

And mostly she felt ashamed. She didn't want to expose him to this dramatic and completely miserable side of her life. It was a little ridiculous and stupid but she could barely contain all the emotions that welled up inside her whenever her family life and Zuko mixed. And to top it all off she was pretty sure Zuko hated her father. How could he understand why she was still patiently holding out for the time when things would get better between her and her dad? Zuko made it clear that he thought Jin should definitely burn the bridge between her and her father.

Maybe if she showed him the cloth filled with her personal belongings it could help Zuko understand more and it could help her explain better.

From her side she felt Zuko stir and she hastily hid the piece of cloth back into her pocket. One day she would tell him, she promised. But not now. She wasn't ready yet. Not with her dad looming behind them. She snuggled closer to him, hoping to finally sleep when she heard an explosion from up above accompanied with the shaking of the temple.

Jin sat up as the temple shook and explosions burst from every direction. Cracks began to appear along its pillars and rubble began to fall unto the ground. Three Fire Nation airships rose from the fog and began to advance slowly towards them. Aang quickly sprang up in the air and with a wave of his staff the shutters obscured her view of the airships. Jin's legs felt like lead. She felt unable to move. For some reason, she just froze and blacked out. Too many things were happening at the same time. Katara was screaming and Hakoda was trying to tell her something. Haru, who had hurriedly placed Teo on his wheelchair, was trying to wheel Teo away while the Duke was looking around in confusion.

Toph stood up and in one quick movement, she earthbent a tunnel at the cliff face, creating an escape route for all of them.

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand grip her arm forcing her to stand. She looked up and saw Zuko whose eyes looked infuriated.

"_Go._ Now!" he said gesturing to the tunnel.

"Zuko, what's going on?" Jin cried over the din of the noise.

"A family reunion," Zuko said tightly. At the word family, Jin immediately remembered her father. He was still in his room. He probably felt the tremors and the explosions but he had no idea what was going on.

"Dad!" Jin screamed and she turned away from him and hurtled into the rows of rooms.

"Jin! No! You have to go to the tunnel with the others!" Zuko cried as he tried to hold her back by grabbing her hand.

Jin struggled against his grasp and as she broke free from him she yelled back scrambling forward with her hand on a small clay table on her neck, "I have to find him! I have to find my dad!"

* * *

Jin ran along the rows of rooms, her heart pounding hard against her chest. She tried to focus and to concentrate despite all the distractions as she tried to recall where her dad stayed. He was in Sokka's room that much she remembered. But where was Sokka's room? Jin tried to remember but she was continually distracted by the sounds of explosions. She made the decision to just check every room. She was about half-way through in looking through all the rooms when another explosion happened. She lost her balance and stumbled forward.

Through the increasingly frequent grains of rubble that fell from the ceiling she saw a tall and broad figure sprinting away. Jin was ready to stand up, realizing that it might be her dad, when another explosion happened. The next few things happened very quickly. Jin heard cracking noise from underneath her and before she knew it, before she could stand up, she felt herself falling.

Jin instinctively grabbed unto a piece of rock jutting from the edge and she quickly tried to swing herself back up. However another explosion happened and it caused her to lose her grip. Jin only managed to hang on with her right hand. A chasm had opened because of the explosion she realized. She looked and around and saw that if she did not get out of here fast, the chasm would widened until one part of it would immediately fall off the cliff.

Jin felt stupid. She should have listened to Zuko. Her father was a seasoned soldier. Something like this was probably normal, even natural to him. Whatever possessed her to abandon all reason? Jin felt so foolish. Now she would probably die and no one would be there to help her. Jin tried to force her other arm to grip the edge but she found herself having difficulty after realizing that her weight was making her unbalanced and that if she tried it, she might lose grip of her other hand altogether.

Panicking she yelled, "Help! Zuko! Aang! Toph!"

No one.

"Sokka! Katara! Haru! Teo! Help me!"

No one.

"Somebody! _Help!"_

No one.

"_Help! Zuko!"_

No one.

She sighed loudly. No one could help her. She was too far off from everyone else. Jin needed to pull through this. She just had too. With all her strength she struggled to lurch herself upward. Clumsily, she failed to grip the edge with her other hand and before she knew it she heard a snap. A piece of rock protruding from the wall snagged the chord of her necklace and broke it into two. She felt her necklace with the identification tablet and the pieces of jade strung unto it slip away.

Stupidly, Jin used the hand she had used for gripping the edge to grab her necklace screaming, _"No!"_

The necklace slipped from her grasp. Now she was done for. She was going to die. And to top it all off, her necklace was lost.

Suddenly she felt something hard, like a chunk of earth, hit her back propelling her upwards. A strong hand gripped her and as Jin looked up into the eyes of her savior she could hardly believe herself. It was her father and he looked like annoyed and slightly angry. But then—that was always his expression.

Something glinted in the light and to Jin's shock she saw her necklace with the identification tablet and her mother's jade reflecting the sun's light against everything else. Jin's father hauled her up until she was standing.

He then wordlessly held up her necklace and he quickly tied it around her neck. Jin was speechless and she felt as if she was in another universe, another dimension.

He then gruffly said, "Don't ever lose it, girl. A soldier never loses his identification tablet. One of the laws of war."

Jin opened her mouth ready to say something when her father roughly grabbed by the collar and hauled her forward. Jin nearly stumbled and fell. He said roughly and a little cruelly, "No time to be weak girl. Show me you're not as disappointing as your brothers."

He then turned around and left Jin without saying goodbye.

* * *

Zuko watched as Jin scrambled farther away from him into the corridor leading to their rooms. He began to panic and his first reaction was that he should go after her immediately. He was about to sprint forwards when he heard the sound of someone's malicious cackling and immediately he knew. His eyes darkened and he looked up and saw Azula laughing manically as she watched the destruction happening from below her. He felt torn. Should he go after Jin or should he stay to fight his sister? A big part of him wanted to go after Jin knowing that she was stubbornly setting herself up for more danger. But a tinier, more insistent part of him knew that it was his duty to confront Azula.

Suddenly the ground shook as another explosion happened and the ceiling crumbled. His moment of indecision was spared as a piece of the ceiling dislodged, falling steadily unto Katara.

Zuko quickly sprung towards her and pushed her out of the way screaming, "Watch out!"

They rolled and tumbled away as the ceiling piece crashes unto the ground.

Katara hissed and snapped at Zuko as soon as they were fine. Obviously, she still did not like or trust Zuko. She demanded, "What are you doing?"

"Keeping rocks from crushing you," Zuko said blankly, thoroughly confused as to why she was so upset. He had just saved her life! Zuko pretty much thought that that would be sufficient reason enough for her not to hate him.

"Okay, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now," Katara spat as she irritably slid out of Zuko.

Zuko stared after her, confused as she sped away from him. He muttered, "I'll take that as a thank you."

"Zuko, come on! We have to go!" Aang said as he pulled at Appa's reins towards the tunnel.

"Where's Jin?" Zuko demanded as he whipped his head towards Aang.

"She must have gone in the tunnel already!" Aang shouted over the din of the noise.

Zuko's jaws tightened and he said in a hard voice, "I don't think so."

"What?" Aang yelled.

"Go ahead, I'll hold them off. Find Jin! She's still in here somewhere finding her dad! Find her!" Zuko barked at Aang. Aang looked ready to protest when Zuko turned around, faced the airships and narrowed his eyes saying, "I think this is a family visit."

Zuko then ran towards the airships.

Aang looking stunned, yelled, "Zuko, no!"

Sokka and Katara ran towards him, towards the tunnel. Sokka grabbed Aang's shoulder and said firmly, "Come on, we gotta get out of here. Zuko can handle it."

Aang looked reluctant. He said, "Zuko said Jin's still here. We have to find her."

"I think she went through the tunnel already," Katara said as she shook her head.

"No, she didn't. We have to get her," Aang stubbornly said.

"I think she's over there. You go ahead. I'll get her!" Sokka said as he squinted his eyes. Across the scores of rubble and dust he could see a slender figure sprinting towards them. Katara and Aang hesitantly looked at him.

"Go! Take Appa and we'll catch up with you later, okay?" Sokka said and he quickly herded them through the tunnel before running forward to meet Jin. Jin looked shaken and she was ashen-faced. Her eyes looked drawn and sad and disappointed and for some reason her hand was placated on her neck. She was clutching something though he couldn't tell what it was.

Sokka scrambled through the ruins and grabbed Jin's arm, saving her from a falling precipice. Sokka yelled at her through all the noise and destruction, "We have to go!"

He gestured at the tunnel.

"Where's Zuko?" Jin yelled.

Before Sokka could answer her, they suddenly caught a figure—Zuko—dashing out of the broken temple and spiraling into one of the airships. Jin could hardly breathe as she watched Zuko nearly miss and fail to land. She tried to run towards him as she screamed, "Zuko!"

Sokka shook his head and grabbed her arms, trying to restrain her, "Let him go, Jin! We have to get out of here! Come on, he knows what he's doing, okay?"

Jin calmed down for a few seconds and she felt focused enough to listen to Sokka who was trying to steer her towards the tunnel while yelling something at the same time. She immediately saw all of them gathering at the mouth of the tunnel with Aang trying to desperately drive Appa into the tunnel by pulling his reins.

"I can't get him to go in there," Aang said as he tried to pull Appa into the tunnel.

"Aang there's no way we can fly out of here," Katara said as she looked at how many they were.

"We'll have to find a way," Aang said as he loosened his grip on the reins.

"We need to split up," Sokka declared.

"What?" Katara said looking incensed.

"It's the only way. You guys go to the tunnel and take the stolen airship," Sokka said as he turned to look at his father.

He then said somberly to Katara and Aang, "We have to ride Appa and get Zuko."

"No. The Fire Nation can't separate our family ever again," Katara said as she shook her head.

"We have to make sacrifices. It's not only us. The Fire Nation has already separated other families," Sokka said as he gestured at Jin who was looking extremely sad and worried. She fiddled with something on her neck.

"It's not forever," Hakoda firmly said as he squeezed Katara's shoulder. He then said, "Sokka's right. We have to split up. You have to ride Appa and get Zuko. It won't be for too long."

He then hugged Katara and Sokka firmly, he shook Aang's hand, gave a small wave to Suki and Toph and he then gave Jin a small pat on the shoulder. After a few rueful goodbyes he left the tunnel with Chit Sang and the others following him.

"What about your dad?" Aang suddenly said as he turned to look at Jin.

Jin avoided his gaze and said quietly, "He's fine. He already gone and he's probably safe."

"Hey, are you okay?" Sokka said after realizing that Jin looked so absentminded.

She looked vacant and suddenly she snapped back into focus. Her jaw tightened as she saw Zuko stumble backward as he tried to avoid a stream of blue fire. She said determinedly, "Come on. Let's get Zuko."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Zuko managed to yell despite the roar of the wind.

Azula stared at him coolly before breaking out into a maniacal grin. She then yelled back, "You mean it's not obvious yet? I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!"

Zuko bucked up his stance and prepared himself for the fight that was about to ensue. For most of his life Azula was always the better sibling. She was always better than Zuko. And Zuko had prepared for the day when he would finally achieve success. He raised his arms.

They rushed at each other.

Azula was as usual, up to her perfect standards though Zuko could feel that he was improving. He held his own much longer than he had before. The two of them dodged and parried blows with Azula glinting and giving off a maniacal, almost crazy laugh once in awhile. Zuko frowned. He was starting to worry about his sister. Granted, he despised her but that did not mean that he completely hated her. He had come to the conclusion that Azula was that way because of their dad. In some ways, Zuko was like Jin pining and waiting for the day when things got better. Patiently holding out for the peaceful and happy family reunion. Zuko cursed himself. Her optimism was rubbing off him.

Suddenly he heard another explosion. At first he thought that it was from a distance but after a split second he realized that it was from this airship. He watched in horror as Azula started to skid away from the airship. He tried to reach out to her but a shudder in the airship caused him to lose his balance. He began to spiral downwards at a very fast rate and he felt that he was going to die.

It felt so surreal and yet so sad to him at the same time. He thought about Jin and how short his time with her was. He thought about the Avatar and how he failed him by not living long enough to complete his training. He thought about his newfound friends—Sokka, the Duke, Teo—and how he would never get the chance to know them more. He thought about Katara and how she would always hate him. But he mostly thought about Jin and he wondered if she made it out of the air temple alive and whether she would be sad that he was gone.

Suddenly he was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt someone grip the back of his shirt. Someone grabbed his arm and he immediately felt like he was being hauled away somewhere. His back hit something hard and the first thing he saw was Jin's face looming over him worriedly.

His first thoughts were that of relief.

Then he thought about Azula.

He quickly ignored everyone else, sat up and looked over the edge of the saddle where he saw Azula flailing and spinning wildly like a rag doll.

"She's not going to make it," Zuko whispered a little sadly.

He could feel some movement beside him and he turned and saw that Jin was looking with him intently.

Then to his shock, Azula ripped her headpiece off and she then emptied the silence as she hurtled towards the cliff face with blasts of fire sparking at her heels. Zuko watched in horror as his baby sister landed on the cliff face, her eyes feral and wide and her grin maniacal.

Zuko could barely contain his disappointment. He turned away and growled, "Of course she did."

* * *

They had all settled down on a rocky hill by the sea. As soon as Appa landed, Sokka immediately gave Zuko the rundown of what happened to Hakoda and everyone else before they all started to make camp. Zuko and Jin helped Aang get all the supplies from Appa's back. They were in high spirits, especially after they had escaped from someone like Azula. Zuko and Jin could barely contain their happiness for each other and much to Aang's surprise and Sokka's horror they were the most affectionate they had ever been in public with Zuko often giving Jin a small kiss on the forehead or cheek or with Jin nudging her nose against Zuko's in return.

Zuko helped Jin set her tent up and as soon as he was finished with that he cheerfully lit the campfire up for everyone. Sure, Azula escaped and made it out alive but he didn't let that get him down too much. He had just shown the faint signs that he would be able to hold his own against his sister and possibly even defeat her. He felt extremely elated right now.

Katara cooked dinner as soon as there was a fire and rounds and rounds of tea were immediately passed around. As soon as they were all good and settled Aang said contentedly, "Wow, camping. It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?"

Zuko cut a biscuit in half and gave the other half to Jin before saying slyly, "If you really want to feel like old times, I could, uhh... chase you around a while and try to capture you."

Everyone around the campfire burst into laughter. Zuko turned sideways and tried to see Jin's reaction and he was a little disappointed to see that she was looking into the ground, distracted. When she caught Zuko's stare she gave him a wide smile and Zuko felt all his previous apprehensions melt away. Zuko wrapped an arm around her and watched as everyone continued to laugh happily.

Katara sourly looked down and said in a sarcastic voice, "Ha ha."

"To Zuko. Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today, he'd be our hero," Sokka declared as he raised his glass into the air. Everyone raised their glasses and chorused agreements except for Katara. She was looking away, her face pinched and looking angry.

"Here! Here!" everyone yelled. Toph and Aang elbowed Zuko while Jin gave him a small and distracted kiss on his cheeks.

"I'm touched. I don't deserve this," Zuko said as he smiled warmly.

"Yeah, no kidding," Katara said snippily as she stood up and stormed off. Zuko's happy demeanor immediately soured and a frown formed his lips.

Sokka looked after Katara and said, "What's with her?"

Zuko scowled before standing up. He said, "I wish I knew."

He then turned on his heels and stormed off as everyone else looked after him quizzically.

"What's with him?" Sokka demanded directing his question at Jin. Jin however was looking at the fire blankly her hand fiddling the hem of her skirt and her other hand on her neck. Sokka and everyone stared at her waiting for an answer.

"Hello? Jin?" Sokka said as he tried to grab her attention.

Jin snapped back into focus and said, "I have to go."

She then stood up and left.

"What's with her?" Sokka said as she stalked off.

He then added, "What's with everybody?"

* * *

The next day, things proceeded on normally. Aang led Appa to a small grassy pasture overlooking the sea where Appa could graze. Sokka, a little preoccupied with the romantic night he shared with Suki, lazily fiddled with a necklace of flowers. Jin, who had looked absentminded the night before, looked like her usual cheerful and happy self again that day. Toph and Suki had volunteered for market duty that day and the two had gone to get some food (though Toph didn't look as happy).

Jin quietly lied down on Appa's tail as Aang fed him some hay, relishing the wonderful feeling of the cool breeze hitting against her face. She felt a little better than she did last night and the vision of her angry father rescuing her and forcefully shoving her was nothing but a faint memory. Jin was very good at erasing unnecessary or horrendous memories from her mind.

They all talked a little about where they would set camp next, somewhere a little more permanent where Aang could practice without having to worry about the Fire Nation at his tail. Their conversation was interrupted however, when Katara came stomping into view, dressed in all black. She had an intense look on her face and her fists were balled.

"I need to borrow Appa," Katara curtly said. She wasn't asking for a favor. She was telling Aang what she wanted. And she expected to get what she wanted.

"Why? Is it your turn to take a little fieldtrip with Zuko?" Aang asked good-naturedly as he fed Appa some more hay. Appa chewed it slowly. From her place, Jin sat up curious and concerned at what was going on. The night before, Zuko and Katara both left. She wasn't paying too much attention though. She was too busy thinking about her dad and her family.

"Yes, it is," Katara grimly stated as she avoided Aang's gaze.

Aang looked surprise at the coolness of her voice and the aggressiveness of her reaction. He frowned and said, "Oh. What's going on?"

"We're going to find the man who took my Mother from me," Katara flatly said. Behind her, Zuko followed her, also dressed in all black with a bag in hand.

"Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it. And I know how to find him," Zuko proudly said as he hauled the bag up Appa's saddle.

Jin's eyes flew wide open as soon as she realized the full extent of what Katara and Zuko planned to do. They were going to take revenge against the killer of Katara's mother. Jin felt the previous lightness she had melt away as a cold and heavy dread settled on her chest. This was wrong on all sorts of levels. Taking revenge against someone would not resolve anything. If anything it would only make things worse or more complicated. Jin wrinkled her brow. She knew perfectly well how disastrous the results of this would be because she and her brothers had once gone after their mother's killers. They once searched for him and went after him and they found him. Jin shuddered at the memory.

This was doing nothing but bringing painful memories of her mother back.

Jin was brought back to reality as soon as she realized that Aang and Katara and Sokka were arguing in full force. Aang was looking at Katara with a pleading look in her eye while Sokka was shaking his head in disapproval. Jin could hear Aang telling his experience with Appa and a couple of sandbenders, "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people—''

Jin interrupted him, looked at Katara and demanded, "What exactly do you think this would accomplish, Katara?"

Katara narrowed her eyes at Jin and said in a rather venomous tone, "You wouldn't understand a single thing of what I'm going through Jin. I know that it's perfectly fine for you to do nothing while the Fire Nation slowly tears us down and your idea of resolving things I just sitting there and looking pretty and pretending that everything is fine and dandy and perfect—''

Jin surprised everyone by saying in a loud and aggressive tone, "You don't think that I don't know what I'm going through, Katara? I know how you feel. I may not show it most of the time. But I know how you feel. You feel as if nothing matters to you, that nothing brings you comfort but taking and destroying every single thing that hurt you. How do you think I felt when I saw my province being attacked? When I saw everything that was dear to me crumble down? When I saw my mother die and be burned alive? Do you think that that made me happy? Do you think I enjoyed that?"

Katara and Jin stared at each other and Jin's wide, catlike green eyes looked the greenest and fiercest its ever been. Zuko felt something snap inside of him. He thought that Jin would be all for the idea. He thought that everyone would be all for the idea. He couldn't believe that up until now she was still willing to just sit there and allow these people to continue hurting other people. It felt wrong.

Zuko felt compelled to say something for Katara. Before he could stop himself he said, "She needs this, Jin. This is about getting closure and justice."

Jin glared at him and she said as she shook her head, "I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge."

Katara snarled in frustration and she said, "Fine! Maybe it is. Maybe that's what I need. Maybe that's what he deserves."

Aang shook his head and said, "Katara, you sound like Jet."

"It's not the same. Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster," Katara spat.

Before Jin had time to wonder who Jet was, Sokka spoke up, "Katara, she was my Mother too. But I think Aang might be right."

Katara looked away and said, "Then you didn't love her the way I did."

Sokka looked shocked beyond belief. He speechlessly said, "Katara..."

Aang said as he moved forward, "The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed ratviper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

Zuko snorted and said, "That's cute. But this isn't air temple pre-school. It's the real World."

Katara looked down and breathed as she said, "Now that I know he's out there, now that I know we could find him, I feel like I have no choice."

"Katara, you do have a choice. Forgiveness," Aang said.

"That's the same as doing nothing," Zuko declared.

Jin looked up, recalled something her father told her and her brothers once and said, "No it's not. It's easy to do nothing. But it's hard to forgive. Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind. Revenge is for the weak. You are stronger if you do not take that path. It's one of the laws of a soldier, of war."

"Thanks for the fortune cookie Jin, but quit acting as if you understand a shred of what I'm going through! You don't! You have a perfect and happy little life! Forgiveness…It's not just hard, it's impossible," Katara snapped as she pushed past Jin who looked strangely calm though her eyes looked so angry.

"So you were just going to take Appa anyway?" Aang asked helplessly as she clambered up Appa.

Jin in particular looked the angriest. How could Zuko just go and act like that around her? Sure, they had different opinions. But that did not give him the right to be a total jerk to her.

"Yes," Katara curtly said.

"It's okay, because I forgive you. That give you any ideas?" Aang hopefully asked as he shot her a smile.

"Don't try to stop us," Katara merely said as she began to arrange her bags.

"I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man," Aang said. He looked ready to leave it at that but Jin spoke up.

She said in a voice just as cold but yet it sounded imploring, "But when you do, please don't choose revenge."

Zuko threw his bag unto the saddle and climbed up. He tried to avoid Jin's angry eyes as he sat down. He didn't want to fight her on this. But he felt strongly about this whole revenge issue. If it were his mother Zuko would gladly take revenge on her killer. Or at least the one who banished her. And that was his father. Zuko would be more than happy to take all his anger and resentment out on him in every conceivable violent manner.

"Let your anger out and then let it go. Forgive him," Jin continued on.

Zuko felt tired of her preaching. It was pure nonsense. It was pure Jin. Be happy and bright and optimistic. He let the words run out of his mouth before he could stop himself, "Okay, we'll be sure to do that Miss Goody-goody."

Jin's jaw tightened and Aang and Sokka stiffened as Zuko matched her angry gaze. Katara said hardly, "Thanks for the advice. Yip yip."

Appa flew and the three of them watched as they flew higher and higher and gradually faded from their sight. Sokka then decided that now was a timely moment to address Jin who had frozen and was looking at the ground angrily, "You know, you're pretty wise, Jin. That was a lot of fancy words out there."

Jin turned away and said, "Thanks."

She then stalked off but not before saying in an annoyed voice, "But apparently, I _don't_ understand."

* * *

Jin was fuming mad at Zuko. She could barely contain her anger as she stomped all over their campsite. She wasn't as mad with Katara. She understood how she felt right now. She probably didn't mean most of the things she said. But still, Jin couldn't help feeling hurt at some of the things Zuko said to her. He was her boyfriend! The least he could do, if he was in a disagreement with her with something, was to be cordial and civil about it. Jin decided that she could never forgive him after this whole incident. She sighed. She knew she said that almost every time they have an argument but she was pretty sure that this one would take forever to blow over.

Jin had nothing to do for the next few hours. Her boyfriend was out on a mission with Katara (she didn't want to think about it because she was still infuriated with Zuko), Sokka was off with Suki and she had no idea where Toph was. She rubbed at her identification tablet and the piece of jade strung unto it. She wished that the stupid war had never happened. She wished that her mother was here. Jin tried to calm herself down and distract herself from these really depressing thoughts. But she found herself unable to do so. Her mom would know what to tell her about this whole situation. She would know the exact right words to coax her into forgiving Zuko or to make her feel as if she's done enough to stop Katara. Jin sighed. Wishful thinking would get her nowhere.

"Toph?" Jin said in surprise as she saw the blind girl sitting at the edge of a cliff, her thin frame shuddering.

"What, Smiley?" Toph said in an irritated tone.

"Oh. Sorry. I just thought—I'll just go," Jin said quickly after realizing that Toph didn't seem to be in the mood for talking.

"Hey! Did I say you could go?" Toph said sounding slightly amused.

Jin gave her small smile as Toph patted the space next to her, gesturing for Jin to sit down. Jin sat down and swung her legs over the edge letting it dangle.

"So, what's up? I heard that you and Sparky and Sugar Queen had a little fight," Toph said as she began to swing her legs.

"Don't even mention him," Jin said angrily.

Toph chuckled and she said empathically, "Don't take what Katara said too seriously Jin. She didn't mean it. She's a total sweetheart. Sometimes she turns into a flaming one-eyed, sharp-tongued monster at times. But that's just because she's not as closed as you. She's open and very emotional. And she's only doing that because of the people she loves."

"I'm not mad at her. I'm like that sometimes. It's just….frustrating," Jin honestly said. She could have left it at that. She could have just said that she wasn't mad at Katara and that she understood. But for some reason she felt herself telling Toph what she truly felt.

"What's frustrating?" Toph asked.

"It just…upsets me the way people think that my life is so perfect and that I can't relate or understand everybody else," Jin sighed.

"Maybe that's because you_ do_ act like you're life is perfect. We never knew that you were having troubles at home. Not until your dad showed up," Toph simply said.

"Well excuse me for not sharing every sob story I have to the world," Jin sarcastically said in a voice that surprised Toph and even herself.

Toph grinned and looked at her with her grey eyes saying, "That's not a bad thing. You're like me. We don't have time to get all weepy. It's weepy enough in this group as it is. We have to keep our reps up."

Toph gave her a hard pat on the back. Jin nearly fell over at the force. Toph quickly said, "Oops. Sorry."

Jin smiled. She felt as if she could relate with Toph a little bit more than she did before. That made her feel strangely contented.

"Do you miss your….parents?" Toph asked.

"Yeah. I do. I miss my mom the most," Jin said sadly.

Suddenly Toph gave a great big sigh, looked into the distance and said in a rather heavy voice, "I miss my parents."

Jin froze, unsure what to say. She wasn't really good with the whole parent-child relationship thing. She had a violent father who makes unnecessary outbursts and a dead mother as proof of her completely messed-up existence with her family. Jin tapped her pocket and fiddled with the hem of her skirt as Toph chattered on, "I mean they are over controlling and over protective and stuff but I still miss them. Sometimes, when my mom and dad weren't busy they'd take me out to the annual Fisherman's Day—that's an event that happens off coast where colorful sails get launched—''

"I've heard of it," Jin softly said.

For once Toph didn't look miffed that she was interrupted. She merely gave a small smile before continuing, "Yeah. _That._ They'd take me there and they would describe to me how the ships look like. They'd describe to me the different colors and the patterns and designs….I never really knew what they were talking about because…well…I'm _blind_… When I started to grow up however the trips became less frequent…"

Jin waited for her to finish.

"They were ashamed of me. They didn't like the fact that their daughter was _blind._ That's why they always hid me from the world," Toph bitterly said.

Jin frowned unsure of what to say. What was she supposed to tell Toph? That everything would be okay? It sounded a little too contrived so instead she decided that maybe she should share a little something also, maybe so she could relate. Nothing too personal of course. But after the huge argument between her brother and her dad, she felt that she could share something substantial. Something Toph was already aware of. And besides, she felt a little comfortable around Toph.

Finally she said, "Before our province was attacked—''

"You live in Li-Jien right?" Toph asked suddenly.

"How do you know?" Jin asked in surprise.

Toph shrugged and said, "You're dad's pretty famous across the Earth Kingdom. He was a great war general. Also you're grandfather. Your dad and your grandpa defended lots of Earth Kingdom provinces. My dad told me that your family produced some of the best warriors the Earth kingdom ever had."

Jin looked a little startled. She frowned and looked away, looking hesitant. She hadn't thought that other people might know a lot about her family beforehand. But then again, these were times of war and her father was a very good and famous war general. So was her grandfather. She was born into war and her father's family had built themselves over war. It shouldn't come to her as a surprise that someone as prominent as Toph knew about her dad. She wasn't sure if she wanted to finish but one look at Toph and her expectant face and she immediately knew that she had to.

Jin squared her shoulder and continued, "My mom would make her famous rice cakes and roast pigeon in honor of my dad coming home. Everyone would get so excited. He Shen—he's my other brother—would make a new song. Ge Jiang would be so excited to show dad what he learned. There would be fireworks and lots of food and flowers. He rarely comes home you know."

Jin felt as if she was losing her calm.

She said as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, "He'd always have a new medal or award to bring home or maybe he would tell us how he won a battle. He was good fighter. Mom would always tell me how proud she was of him."

Jin scratched her head.

She then said, "When I got older….mom never got out of her way to prepare for his homecoming anymore. In fact, no one wanted him home anymore. We all would just wish that he wouldn't come. They always fought each other. Sometimes…it gets way out of line."

Jin tightened every muscle in her body and by sheer will she managed to force her tears back into their ducts.

"My mom and dad fought too. Mostly about me. I guess they sometimes disagreed on how to raise a blind kid," Toph said as she gave Jin a small pat on the shoulder.

Toph then looked away and said, "At least they're not ashamed of you."

She said in a sad voice, "My dad was ashamed of us sometimes. Especially if we fumble a bending move in front of his war friends. He never brought us to those victory parties. Said we ruined his name."

After awhile Jin added, "At least…at least your dad-parents love you."

"Love me? _Please._ They don't love me. They _feel sorry_ for me," Toph snorted.

Suddenly an uncomfortable silence washed over them. Jin wondered how they even got to this point. Jin wondered why she told Toph that. Maybe, she admitted, it was because she was lonely and she needed to talk to someone. She felt that she and Toph were similar in some ways. Toph had to keep that tough girl image and it wouldn't do that she just went off spouting how much she missed her parents. Jin just couldn't bring herself to admit that her father was a violent maniac and she was blindly trying to be as optimistic as she could. Jin didn't like to talk about it because it made her feel sad. And whenever she feels sad she cries and she disliked crying in front of other people. It made her feel so uncomfortable and weak.

Jin wanted to cut the conversation short. She no longer wanted to talk about it. The memories were too painful. And she didn't really want to face pain. It made things all too difficult. The good memories were the most painful ones. It reminded her about good times. Things that could continue to happen if only thing hadn't spiraled so wildly out of control in their family. Jin bit her lip.

The silence expanded and expanded until Toph said in a sort of quiet and yet chuckling voice, "Boy, we're so messed up are we?"

She laughed and Jin laughed. The two of them were trying to shake the discomfort that stemmed from their conversation. Jin said as she laughed shakily, "Yeah, we pretty much are."

"At least we're not the only ones," Toph chuckled referring to Sokka and Katara and Aang and Zuko.

"At least…," Jin murmured.

Suddenly they heard noises from the distance and the sound of Appa's roar.

"Guess, Sparky's here," Toph smirked.

Jin's eyes darkened and she said grimly, "You go on ahead."

* * *

After going on that trip with Katara and giving her a good hug after she glumly sat by herself on a dock by the sea, Zuko retreated in his own little corner, unenthusiastic to join everyone else. Not even Jin. _Especially Jin._ He was ashamed for the way he treated her that day. He knew that he hurt her feelings to some extent. But how could she understand? She didn't know his past. She didn't know what he had gone through. The trip reminded him mostly about his mother. He recalled the many moments in the turtle duck pond. He recalled her regal and elegant bearing. He recalled her many stories and her bright laugh. Zuko felt like those memories were so distant, were so far away. He thought about how Katara—how she was so angry and vengeful. Zuko felt that way when he found out about what happened to her from his father. And he was more than ready to take him on right there and then after he knew.

But he could hardly blame Jin for her reaction. She had no idea what was going on with his family life too. Zuko sighed heavily. He wanted to make amends. After sitting there at the edge of the cliff alone for some time and after realizing that everyone had probably gone to sleep Zuko did the boldest thing he had ever done.

And possibly the stupidest.

He went inside her tent. What? He wanted to apologize right there and then. Jin of course, didn't react kindly. She kicked him in the shin and in his well…_sensitive area_. When she realized that it was him she gave him a cold stare before folding herself back into the blankets and looking away from him.

"You're mad at me," Zuko said as he lied down next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Get out of my tent," Jin said through gritted teeth as she tried to shrug his grasp off.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said sincerely as he hugged her again, ignoring her resistance.

"Sure. It's okay. After all, I am Miss Goody-goody aren't I?" Jin sarcastically said.

"I didn't mean it. I didn't know what I was saying," Zuko said.

"Maybe you should've thought about that before you actually said it," Jin said angrily.

"I just felt so angry. Especially when I got reminded of my mom," Zuko said simply.

Jin paused and stop resisting his grasp. Zuko held her closer.

"I felt like I could've done the same thing in the same situation. I loved her so much. I really loved my mom. But you and Aang and Sokka were right. Revenge won't bring me peace. It won't bring her back," Zuko murmured.

He accidentally blew a stream of hot steam out of his mouth as he said so. It tickled Jin's neck and made her shudder.

Jin remained silent.

"She left you know? She left one day when I was about nine or ten years old. She woke me up in the middle of the night, kissed me goodbye and just left. Back then at first I thought she was just going away for a trip. No one would tell me what happened to her. Not dad. Not Azula. Not the servants. _No one._ And I always wondered and waited. Then as I got older, I realized that maybe she died. Then I didn't wait anymore," Zuko said hoarsely.

Zuko felt Jin's small hands take his and he felt her squeeze it.

"During the day of the black sun I confronted my father. And he told me what happened to her. That she wasn't dead. That she was just banished. Then I felt hope again. I was ready to wait again. But I was so mad. I was so mad at my dad for doing that to her. I wanted to strike him with my swords.," Zuko said as his teeth clenched.

Jin said nothing and allowed him to continue.

"That's why I thought that Katara was right in wanting revenge. But then as we went along the trip…I realized that she was wrong. That_ I_ was wrong. I realized that my mother was still alive somewhere. Would she be proud of what I have done? I didn't think she would be. She was a sweet and gentle lady. She used to take me to the duck pond you know?" Zuko chuckled at the memory.

Jin smiled and nodded. Then in a voice that was barely a whisper she said, "Why did your father banish her?"

She didn't look at his eyes and his expression which had darkened. She still had his back to him. Zuko didn't want to talk about it. But suddenly he felt very open. He felt very ready to tell her. He said grimly, "Because she killed my grandfather. My father wanted the throne. To get it, he had to kill me. And he was very willing. He was very willing to kill his own son. But my mother couldn't allow that. She told my father that she would kill Azulon, my grandfather. That she would take the blame. I wish there was some way I could repay her."

Jin felt heart broken. Zuko had gone through all his. She didn't know and now she felt so ignorant and stupid for getting mad at him. She had no idea what he had gone through. She had no idea how messed up his dad was. She had no idea how painful it must be for him to find out that it was his dad that took his mother away from him. How painful it must have been to know that your own father was willing to kill you.

Zuko held his breath and waited for her to answer. To just speak.

Then she turned around, looked at him with remorseful eyes and she leaned forward and kissed him. She kissed him deeply and Zuko didn't want her to stop. Then she let go and whispered into him, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm so sorry Zuko."

Zuko stroked her hair and said, "Its okay. I didn't know either."

They lied down there in complete silence for awhile with Jin on Zuko's chest and with Zuko stroking Jin's hair. Finally, Zuko cautiously said, "How did…how did your mom die?"

Jin sighed and said in a quiet voice, "It was in the middle of the Li-Jien siege. That's where we live. We were finally gaining the upperhand in the battle after losing for so many weeks in a row. We could've actually won that thing. Nothing could stop us."

Zuko waited for her to continue.

"My mother and father had a fight during the night of the final battle. I didn't know what they fought about. What I do know is that my mom got so angry that she…she….left the house. She wanted to bring me with her. But I was too afraid of dad. I was afraid of what he'd do to us if he caught us. Looking back, I wish that I had just gone. It was my biggest regret ever," Jin sadly said.

"What happened?"

"The Fire Nation army caught her and held her hostage along with the wives and children of other dignitaries. They displayed her in front of the square for everyone to see. For my dad to see. The Fire Nation general said that if we surrender they'd give everyone held hostage back safe, unhurt. They'd give my mom back."

Zuko listened to her story with dread in his heart.

"What did your dad say?"

"Nothing. He said no. They burned her alive. In front of everyone. In front of me, my brothers, my dad. And he didn't even care. He didn't even flinch. It was okay with him. It completely okay that my mom was just burned alive," Jin said as she broke into sobs. She didn't know how Zuko could be so strong. How did he manage to handle everything that has happened to him with so much finesse? How could he weather all those things? How could he remain so unbreakable?

"You are so strong," she hiccupped into his chest.

Zuko held her and said fiercely, "You're strong too Jin. All of us are strong."

They laid there in silence.

Zuko said, "I just hope Aang will also be strong enough when the time comes."

Jin silently nodded against his chest. She certainly hoped so. He just had to be. So that their will be peace and retribution for all the atrocities that has happened to to her.

To Zuko.

To Sokka and Katara.

To Toph.

Maybe even to Suki.

To all of them.

* * *

_I'm running against the clock because its back to school and work again. So I don't really have much to ramble on except:_

_Thanks so much to those who added me on their favorite authors lists, who story alerted this story and who added this story to their favorite story lists. _

_Thanks to those who reviewed: Sage of Oblivion, Charmed Ravenclaw, tgbwe, Panther-Strife, ArrayePL and Shakeru._

_Please, always review. I welcome all reviews, good and constructive._

_As always expect a long gap in the updates. But I will always update, don't worry about that._

_HAPPY NEW YEAR!_


	24. Part XXIII

**Burning Bright**

_Part XXIII_

Jin wondered why it took so long for them to find this beautiful island paradise. She had just discovered that she was very much enamored with the beach. She lived all her life in a landlocked province and the farthest she's seen of a coast was when she and her brothers escaped to Ba Sing Se. Here, the Fire Nation beaches were so much more different than the one she's found in the Earth Kingdom. The sand was fine and soft and was the color of mustard yellow. The air was salty and warm but it faded into a cool, refreshing breeze in the evening. The water was clear and it rolled against the shore in big, lazy waves.

Upon their arrival, Zuko immediately dragged her to the shore where he proceeded to take out his shirt. He quickly headed towards the water and commenced swimming, tittering at Jin to join him. When he found out that Jin did not know how to swim, he was extremely incensed. In her full clothing he immediately rushed towards her and despite Jin's protests, he dunked her into the water where Jin gave a light punch on the arm. The rest of the group decided to join them and everyone found it amusing as they watched Jin writhe and yelp as she tried to keep afloat.

The experience was rather embarrassing of course, but she refused to let Zuko know that. He would never let her forget it.

The sun was beautiful and it felt wonderful on her face. For some reason the heat was so much more different than it was in the Earth Kingdom. It warm and light and she loved the feel of it as it spread across her face. Zuko told them that they were to stay at his family's beach house and after drying her clothes off; Zuko gave her a room with the view of the sea where he told her that she could see the sunset and sunrise and see the whole contour of the island and the ocean for miles away.

After a few days of fun however, it was right back to business. Aang trained once again and as a result Zuko had become extremely busy and Jin was left with lots of time for herself. During her free time, Jin bonded with Suki and she discovered that they had a lot in common. They were both independent and assertive and mostly they were stubborn. She had also come from a slightly militaristic background, being trained to be a Kyoshi warrior at a very young age.

She and Suki explored the marketplace of Ember Island where they shopped for new bathing suits. Suki helped Jin choose a dark red bathing suit that was haltered and a pair of small shorts. The top exposed her midriff and it showed off her flat stomach perfectly while Suki chose something a little more daring.

Suki taught Jin how to swim while Sokka taught her how to surf and wakeboard. When Jin asked how did he know how to surf and wakeboard he merely replied that in the South Pole, they did something similar in the warmer, summer months when the water wasn't as frozen.

Katara continuously talked on and on about how worried she was about their hiding place. She was concerned that the Fire Lord might find them. After a few days however, her nervousness was abated and she and Jin spent lots of time shopping for clothes with Suki and the three girls quickly drained most of their money. Her nagging nature didn't stop however, and it continued in the form of her prattling Jin on and on about being the sun for too long and of having sunburn.

Sokka and Jin had many sand castle contests and Jin would always win. Finally, Sokka cried foul after Jin earthbent another more brilliant, more upscale, bigger sand castle and he declared that bending wasn't allowed. They often explored the large beach house together and Sokka found it extremely entertaining to search through and snoop through Zuko's childhood home.

Toph continued to train Jin and she was more relentless and more demanding than before. Jin still had more drills to master, more moves to memorize and Toph was leaving very little time for having fun. They did, however, enjoy an occasional wrestling and sparring match. Toph always won though and Jin ended up bruised black and blue and having painful cramps the next day.

Zuko, who was very busy in training Aang found little free time to spend with her. Most of his days and hours were taken up by Aang's training and the rest were for sleeping to rest his wearied body. He always found time to spend with Jin however, and they often found numerous ways to amuse themselves. He took her on an eating spree, taking Jin from one food shop to another, introducing her to the vibrant Fire Nation palate of spices, curry and peppers. He taught her swimming and surfing and deep sea diving. He taught her a new past time which was sunbathing and together they sunbathed in a very quiet and deserted part of Ember Island. Zuko discovered very quickly however, that she did not tan well—her skin merely turned pink and she did not get that copper-bronze tone Zuko promised. He built sand castles with her and he taught her how to play Kaui Ball (Zuko was annoyed to discover that Jin was actually quite good with it although in his defense she did often use Earthbending to win). He took her to the most breathtaking (and romantic) parts of the island where they often stayed for hours and hours.

But Jin's most favorite past time was something Zuko did not particularly like. She loved it when he showed her around his house, personally. She loved to hear stories about his childhood. She loved to see the pictures and the family albums. She felt so much closer to Zuko that way and it was as if a great part of his enigma had faded away as the tours around his house progressed. Zuko heavily disliked it however. He didn't like to be reminded about the good memories he had in this place. It only filled his heart with regret and it made him feel wistful. Jin however was very enthusiastic about the whole matter and he could hardly say no to a smile as bright and beaming and beautiful as that.

"Zuko, what's this?" she asked as they rummaged through a small room. Zuko looked at her and he felt a smile curve on his lips as soon as he saw that Jin's cheeks and nose were slightly pink from being in the sun too long. She looked so beautiful.

"Zuko," Jin said again.

Zuko looked at the thing she was holding and after seeing it he immediately felt heavy hearted. It was a plaster with his handprint on it. He watched as Jin put her hand over the mold and memories of his mother, father, uncle and cousin washed over him.

He grabbed it from Jin's hand, a little roughly and little more rudely than he intended too. He then turned around and ignored Jin's surprised and upset expression.

In a hard and angry voice he said, "It's nothing."

* * *

After another bout of intense training with Aang, Zuko slung a towel over his shoulder and sat on the fountain as he tried to soothe his ached muscles and sun dried skin. Despite being in the sun for a great deal he still retained his naturally pale skin color although it turned a little red whenever he was out for too long sometimes. Aang, Suki and Toph however had acquired a slightly darker tan while Jin's shoulders and arms had turned pink. Zuko was beginning to get worried that she might be on the verge of having a full-fledged sunburn but Jin always re-assured him that everything was fine.

"Doesn't it seem kinda weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara questioned as she looked around the courtyard.

Zuko snorted unwilling to go into the details but he stated nonetheless, "I told you, my Father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy. And that was a long time ago. This is the last place anyone would think to look for us."

He wiped his hair in a slightly irritated manner. Beside him, Aang was splashing water on his face while Toph was lying down on the fountain ledge, bored. Jin had gone (much to Zuko's chagrin) off to the sun again and she was standing on small, elevated rock examining the beach and the way the morning sun spread across the water. Her arms and shoulder's started to turn redder.

Zuko was about to yell at her to stay out of the sun when Sokka and Suki suddenly came bounding in with Sokka flapping and waving a rolled piece of paper into the air excitedly as he said, "You guys are not going to believe this. There's a play about us."

"We were just in town and we found this poster," Suki excitedly said as Sokka unraveled the paper. There was a painting of Zuko's eyes and scar looming and watching dangerously and threateningly over Aang, Sokka and Katara who were assuming into fierce-some poses. Aang and Sokka, amazed at their faces being displayed up front began to make comments and Sokka in a particularly loud voice commented on how ridiculously angry Zuko looked and how his scar was painted on the wrong side. Zuko quickly snapped back at Sokka and the two entered into a light bicker on who looked more stupid on the poster.

Toph who was annoyed with the two of them yelled at Jin who was still looking at the sea, "Hey Smiley! Come over here! They say your boyfriend looks really stupid!"

Zuko glared at her but decided to just let it go after realizing that Toph probably would not be able to see him and thereby the scariness of his glare would probably lose its effect. Jin scrambled towards the group and sat next to Zuko who silently sulking at Toph.

"I don't think it looks that bad. I think you look rather handsome," Jin smirked as she leaned towards him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

Zuko cracked a small smile from his serious demeanor and he quietly leaned towards her and kissed her back. Behind them Sokka pretended to vomit and whispered, "Gross." Everyone else gave silent snickers as Sokka continued to make disgusted looking faces.

Jin however suddenly frowned and she said, "But your scar…it's on the wrong—''

Zuko scowled and said, "Save it."

"What? How is that possible?" Katara said incredulously as Sokka shoved the poster enthusiastically on Aang's face.

"Listen to this," Sokka said as he flipped the poster back and composed himself. Then he opened his mouth and started reading, "The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu On Tim who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources including singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."

He then paused and after a few minutes said dramatically, "Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players."

Zuko grimaced as a flood of memories of his family and mother coming to watch the Ember Island Players rolled through his head. None of them were very wonderful. He frowned and said, "My Mother used to take us to see them. They butchered 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year."

Katara shared his sentiments saying, "Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves ?"

"I think it's exciting! It's been a long time since we did anything fun!" Jin said excitedly. Her face lit up in a bright smile and Zuko found it difficult to break her bubble.

Zuko turned to look at her and said, "The play is not fun."

"That's coming from a person like _you_," Jin quickly shot back. She then turned to Sokka and Suki who had the same enthusiastic response saying, "I love watching plays! Before a group of traveling theater players always went by our city every spring time and they would always hold shows for free! There would be a play about mighty warriors and scary beasts—''

"Were their plays about a group of kids who traveled all over the world and were being pursued by a maniacal prince and his sister?" Sokka suddenly interrupted her.

Jin glared at him and said defensively, "Well…I'm sure the prince wasn't that horrible—''

"Jin the plays are horrible. Trust me. They over exaggerate some things; misconstrued some facts and they always manage to butcher the very essence of the play itself. It's not worth going," Zuko quickly said.

Jin frowned at him and sputtered, "Well…but—but—''

"I'd rather we all stay here and train some more. The upcoming fight is much closer than we think," Zuko said. At this everyone sighed loudly, especially Aang who began to wildly shake his head.

"I've had enough of training. Especially if it's with Toph. She always manages to turn me into pulp," Jin said.

"Yeah…I am pretty sick of training," Aang echoed.

"How are we even going to disguise me and Aang? A scar and an arrow tattoo are pretty difficult to hide," Zuko said.

"You can wear a hood and Aang can wear a cap or something," Suki suggested.

"See? There's always a solution for everything," Sokka said looking smugly satisfied.

"Come on, Zuko! _Please_," Jin said pleadingly as she looked at Zuko.

"Trust me, Jin. That play will not be anything special. In fact, it will probably be the polar opposite," Zuko snorted.

"I don't know…" Katara reluctantly said.

Sokka however stood up and said happily as he forced Aang to stand up, "Well, I completely agree with Jin! One day at the theatre!"

He pulled Katara and Toph up.

He grinned, "This is the kind of wacky time wasting nonsense I've been missing."

* * *

Zuko was not very excited about the upcoming play but since everyone else and Jin in particular, seemed to be extremely enthusiastic, he simply decided to go along with everybody else. Sokka and Suki had already bought all the tickets and Katara and Suki spent the whole afternoon rubbing some sort of greasy looking salve on their arms and legs to moisten their sun dried skin so that "they may look presentable in front of respectable theatre-goers." Zuko thought that they were just happy that they had a good reason to indulge on their vanity. Sokka and Aang went off to have a nice, clean bath and Toph had decided to actually clean and scrub her feet.

He had finally managed to convince Jin to stay out of the sun and together they stayed at the house. The pinkness of her skin started to fade after hours of staying cooped up inside and she was eager to go out some more.

"Now would be a good time for a swimming lesson," Jin commented eagerly.

"No. Not now. You and your skin need to rest," Zuko said as he leaned downwards and kissed her forehead. Jin frowned at him and he chuckled as he began to prepare food for them. Dinner was mostly left to everyone's own devices by now since Katara had stopped cooking for group dinners (she was always busy with a new adventure everyday) and Zuko would rather starve than eat Jin's cooking. He mostly prepared food or bought for the two of them though his cooking creations usually consisted of sandwiches that were sloppily made.

He was on the verge of making a sandwich out of rooster-pig cutlets when Jin spoke up about wanting to go to the beach again. She sighed at Zuko's refusal and she looked away, deep in thought as of the moment. Suddenly she spoke up, "Are you excited for the play?"

"No," Zuko honestly answered her. He sat down and began to slop some pepper sauce on each layer.

"Why not?"

"They're horrible actors."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"You won't be saying that once you see yourself being played by one of their lousy actors."

"Oh please."

Zuko finished his sandwich and he took a knife out and began to slice it. They would be leaving in a few minutes now. Zuko sighed heavily as he placed Jin's half on a plate and pushed it towards her. Jin stared at him incredulously and instead of eating her half of the sandwich like he expected, instead stared at him and she quietly reached her hand out and touched his.

She said sincerely, "What's wrong? I'm sorry. If you didn't want to go I shouldn't have forced it…"

Zuko scowled and looked away saying, "No. It's not that…."

"Then what is it? Zuko it's just supposed to be a night of fun. _Fun._ That's something we haven't had for awhile," Jin said softly.

"I know," Zuko sighed dejectedly.

"But if you don't want to go, then it's alright with me if we stay here," Jin said.

"No. We should go. It's just that…." Zuko trailed off. Jin decided that she wasn't going to push it. He'll tell her when he wants to tell her. She leaned back and decided that although the prospect of just staying in while the others were off having fun was boring, it was probably alright as long as Zuko were there.

Just when she thought he wouldn't say anything he suddenly said, "It's just that this play…it's probably going to be about Aang's journey all over the world, right?"

"That's what the poster said," Jin grinned.

"Then the whole play would probably be a blow by blow account of what happened during that time."

"And so?"

Zuko frowned and said, "I did some horrible things to them back then. Really, really bad and awful things. I was a completely different person. I just don't want you to see that side of me. See all of the things I've done."

"You dumped me in the most horrible way possible. I doubt that anything I see will be worse than that—''

"Excuse me? I dumped you! Last time I checked, you dumped me!"Zuko indignantly said.

"You betrayed me and the Resistance. That counts as dumping," Jin said calmly.

"No, it doesn't! And that's not the point!" Zuko cried.

Jin laughed and said as she bit off from her sandwich saying, "Whatever. I'm over it anyway. "

Zuko lost his playful demeanor and he said sadly, "I mean, what would happen if all those old wounds re-open. I just wish that you wouldn't be able to see that part of me."

"It doesn't matter to me. I'm your girlfriend. I have to love_ all_ parts of you. I'm done with all the prejudice and presumptions. I know that whatever they make you out to be in that play tonight will be so far from the person you truly are," Jin smiled.

She then added with a slight mocking giggle, "Now stop being so angsty and emotional. It's just a play. No big deal."

Zuko suddenly felt a lot better though he fears weren't alleviated in the least bit. He felt nervous. Sure, Jin saw a small part of that when he betrayed her. But it wasn't really to a full extent. Sure she heard stories from Aang and everyone else. But they were usually told in a joking and comical manner. Sure she had read about him in History books. But they were mostly accounts of his childhood. The time when he was still untroubled and young.

"I just hope you wouldn't dump me after you've seen me in my ponytail," Zuko smirked jokingly.

"You had a ponytail?" Jin giggled.

Zuko sighed and snickered, "Among other things."

"Hey, Zuko! Jin! We're leaving!" Sokka called them.

Zuko quickly grabbed their sandwiches and wrapped it in a small cloth. Jin handed him a cloak and she kissed him softly as she whispered, "Dump you? _Please._ Don't be stupid. It takes a lot of time and effort for someone to get to know you."

She leaned back and said, "And I would definitely know."

* * *

Jin and Zuko finished their sandwiches on the way to the theatre with Sokka yapping at their heels, always pinching to get some of their food. When they arrived near the theatre, Zuko drew his hood over his face a little bit more and he tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as Sokka chattered happily about how he got all of them a seat at the top box. He and Suki handed the ticket-man their tickets and together they all trooped inside.

As they were going up to their seats Zuko sized up on which had the best spot and he decided that it was the one next to Katara. He promptly sat down and was at the receiving end of an annoyed gasp from Aang who up until then, he had failed to notice.

Aang sheepishly said, "Hey, uh… I wanted to sit there."

He pointed at Zuko's seat.

Zuko frowned at him and said, "Just sit over there."

"But—''

"What's big deal?"

Aang sighed and was about to sit next to Zuko when Zuko grabbed his hand and said a little sheepishly, "Um…I wanted Jin to sit there. Why don't you sit over there?"

He pointed at the seat next to it.

Aang stared at him blankly and looked at Katara and his seat, measuring the distance.

Aang frowned and said, "Look, Zuko…I just want—''

"Aang's right Zuko. We should let him sit there," Jin said suddenly coming up from behind Aang. She threw Zuko a meaningful—something which remained lost to Zuko.

"But why? We can see better from here," Zuko said.

Jin put her hands on her hips and jerked her head towards Katara as she said, "But Aang wants to sit there."

"He can sit on other places," Zuko argued. He really didn't feel like moving anywhere and he felt like out of all the seats, this had the best view of the play. And besides Aang could see well from the seat he pointed. It would save them all the trouble and commotion if he just sat down.

Jin continued to shoot him meaningful glances as if she was trying to tell him something. Zuko on the other hand couldn't decipher or possibly ever decode what meaning she was trying to get across to him.

Jin said, "But he can't see from where he's sitting."

"Well we won't either if we move—''

Another jerk towards Katara, then to Aang. Zuko stared at her blankly. Jin sighed, "Just give him the seats—''

Zuko said, "He can sit over there. What's the big deal—''

Behind them Sokka and Suki who had settled in were suddenly drawn towards their argument, Toph snickered in her place, while Katara who had been previously pre-occupied with watching the actors and actresses scuffle in and out from behind the curtain suddenly looked with interest at Jin and Zuko and Aang.

Aang sheepishly grinned at her before hurriedly saying, "I was—I just wanted to—okay."

He then sat down on the seat Zuko designated him too and looked away trying to diffuse all the commotion.

Jin sat down next to Zuko and shot him a venomous glare as the lights dimmed and the curtains suddenly pulled apart. Zuko stared at her incredulously. He was honestly confounded as to why she was annoyed and he was also confused of the cryptic non-verbal messages she kept sending him. Something about Aang and Katara.

"What?" Zuko demanded.

Jin poked him in the ribs before hissing, "He wanted to sit next to Katara, you idiot!"

It took him a full thirty seconds to comprehend this. He stared at Jin, then at Katara, then at the Avatar muttering, "He—her—he likes her—I really didn't have a single idea—''

"Shh!"

Sokka bonked him in the head and told him to keep quiet as the play began.

* * *

Jin realized early on that Zuko wasn't exaggerating when he stated that the Ember Island Players were horrible actors. And apparently everyone else realized that too and Jin was beginning to feel rather ashamed for even wanting to see this ludicrous play. She imagined how smug Zuko must be in the darkness and once or twice throughout the whole mockery of the thing, he jabbed her ribs and elbowed her and snickered in a very self-satisfied manner. Jin snorted.

Fine. So maybe they shouldn't have seen the play.

The whole play portrayed all the people in it (namely, Katara, Aang, Toph and Zuko) in a very comical and embarrassingly incorrect manner. Jin realized that this must be to boost Fire Nation morale by making the members of Team Avatar look insipid, incapable, ridiculous and stupid and so far they were doing a very good job at it.

Much to Katara's chagrin, she was played by an actress who was twice as ugly, twice as fat and twice as overly dramatic. Her tendencies to be a motherly nag and an over emotional speech maker were amplified a hundred times. The Actress Katara portrayed the real Katara as a melancholic, weepy woman who was always engrossed in hope and would often burst into speeches about it without any incomprehensible or logical reason. Katara fumed as the Actress Katara sobbed as she clutched unto the Water bending scroll, "It gave me so much hope!"

Sokka to his annoyance was played by a thin, pimply and buck teethed actor whose jokes did not do justice to Sokka's humor and whose only pre-occupation was food. He rattled on and on about how hungry he was and once in awhile he would crack a completely unfunny and humorless joke.

To Aang's complete horror, he was played by a woman and instead of having an air glider the actress carried a fan and she would often fly away with a very flamboyant and feminine gesture which further exemplified her femininity. Instead of the carefree nature, Aang proudly boasted of, he was instead portrayed as a perky and mischievous trickster who didn't seem at all that serious of saving the world. And to further add to his misery, the Actress Katara repeatedly announced that she only loved him like "a brother". Aang sank further downwards to his seat.

Toph seemed to be the only on enjoying her characterization. In the play, she was big, huge man with huge, shaggy hair covering her eyes. Top's actor could see by emitting sonic waves instead of seeing through Earthbending and the actor Toph declared himself as Aang's teacher by emerging from the ground. Toph as expected liked this very much and she was not at all bothered that she was being played by someone of the opposite gender.

And Zuko.

Jin sighed.

Zuko. Poor Zuko. Her amazing, handsome and wonderfully charming boyfriend was being made into a total farce. Although some characteristics of him were spot on.

Zuko grumbled that the actor made him look completely stiff and humorless. Jin tried to hide her giggle. In her opinion, despite the fact that they had done a very good job of making a mockery of Zuko, the actor playing Zuko had managed to catch many of her boyfriends unpleasant quirks, mannerisms, thinking and behavior and he had managed to magnify it to a degree that was ten times worse. Jin burst into giggles as Zuko gave short and angry bursts of speeches about his honor. Zuko frowned at her and whispered, "Let's see how you like it when you turn up and they make you look stupid…"

Jin scoffed, "Oh, _please._ I doubt they'll even know me."

"Jin, the Ba Sing Se Resistance was a big thing. It will turn up—''

"You're just saying that to scare me—''

Zuko snorted and said derisively, "I can't wait to see how they'll make you out to be."

Jin frowned at him and just too purposely annoy and spite him, she laughed a bit more loudly at the exaggerated caricature of her boyfriend. Zuko scowled. She was a little disappointed however to see that they replaced Iroh's love of tea for cake.

Jin wrinkled her nose and said, "I can't believe they don't even mention how much your uncle loves tea."

Zuko sighed heavily in agreement, suddenly irrationally missing his uncle.

* * *

After the intermission and after a great deal of whining and moping and griping, they all went back to their seats and Zuko was vaguely aware that the events of the play were almost leading up to the time he and Jin met. Zuko began to feel nervous. Would there be a character of her? Zuko shook his head. Maybe not. But maybe there will be. Would they show a portion of their date? That was impossible. Only his uncle knew about it.

"Zuko, it's time we had a talk…about your hair!" his uncle's doppelganger declared.

Zuko tried to contain his embarrassment as his girlfriend roared with laughter from beside him. He snapped back from his chaotic thoughts and focused on the stage where the actor playing him had a ridiculous wig. Zuko frowned as Actor Iroh said, "It's gone too far!"

Zuko scowled. This was completely ridiculous. His hair was not that long nor did it change that drastically. Jin could hardly contain her fits of giggles. Zuko scowled and snapped at her, "This is so stupid! My hair isn't that long!"

Jin giggled uncontrollably as she said, "We should split up…..you and your uncle split up over hair?"

Zuko scowled and said as he looked away completely embarrassed, "You are so insufferable!"

Jin smiled at him sweetly and Zuko scowled and looked away. She tried to desperately hide the anxiety she was feeling. Jin nervously dug at her palms as the time for her appearance drew nearer. It was going to happen inevitably in a few minutes. The timing was perfectly right. Zuko and Iroh had reunited once again and Zuko's ridiculous shaggy mop of hair had been reduced to something shorter and neater (though it was still outrageous) and they were already travelling all the way to Ba Sing Se. Would she want herself to be there? A part of her niggled at the back of her mind incessantly telling her that no, that would not be a good idea. They would probably present her as some sort of uncultured, manner less colony slob. But it seemed, on the other hand, extremely insulting if not one trace of her was presented. Was she unimportant enough to be overlooked? Jin scowled. She didn't want to be like that.

Zuko gave another groan as the actor playing him on stage gave another cantankerous rendition of Zuko's personality.

Jin giggled and tried to hide the growing swell in her heart and the sweatiness of her palms.

* * *

Jin found out quickly enough that she was right when she thought that they would present her as an uncultured, manner-less colony slob. But that turned out to be the least unflattering thing they have made her out to be.

For starters, the actress playing her was extremely thin almost to the point of being anemic and her raggedy clothes hung on her loosely and limply. Jin frowned. She knew that she was slender but she was pretty sure that despite her slimness, she still had shape and meat on her to create some pretty dangerous curves. They were obviously trying to emphasize her extreme poverty seeing as they made her look underfed and they made her look as if she was on the brink of starvation.

Secondly, the actress playing her was wearing the most horrible and atrocious dress ever. It was frayed and it was too big on her. Dirt was smeared all over it and on her feet were the most horrendous looking clogs Jin has ever seen in her life. She cringed. She did not dress that horribly. Sure, she favored loose fitting clothes, especially when she had tons of errands to run around the city so she could be comfortable. And sure, she did have a penchant for always wearing the same dress two days a week (she always managed to do a horrible job with the laundry). And okay, maybe when she's in a hurry or when it is a particularly hot day, she looked extra-sweaty and extra-dirty. But that was perfectly normal. Everybody looked messy at one point or the other. She just happened to look disheveled _all the time. _That didn't mean she didn't keep her attractiveness up though.

Third was the fact that they made Jin look like clueless, vapid, and almost flippant. She, in stark contrast to Zuko, was always looking at the bright side of things. She had a silver lining for every bad thing, almost to the point of being annoying, she sang randomly, talked in a ridiculously sing-song and upbeat voice, walked in a silly, half-step, half-skip gait and she would always answer Zuko's rants with a light giggle and small, dismissive wave of her hand. Okay, so maybe she was optimistic and maybe she liked looking at the bright side of things. _A lot. _But she could be practical at times. She didn't always live in optimistic denial with a dream world of bright and happy things hanging up her head. She wasn't _that_ carefree.

Fourth, they made her seem completely useless, defenseless and ignorant. Jin nearly tore her hair out in frustration as she watched her doppelganger handle a knife clumsily and run screaming out the back when a fight began in the Resistance. She was also made to look like a poor strategist, scribbling giant hearts and stars on the battle plans. They were obviously trying to make point how she was such a horrendous leader. Jin scowled. Okay, so maybe she screwed some things up. But she was not that incompetent. Or stupid. Plus, they got it all wrong. The Resistance started after the coup. Not before.

Fifth, the portrayals of her brothers were spot on. Jin huffed. They made The Shen look like a singing but dangerous hippy (which he was) and Gee Jiang cool and collected leader (which he also was). If they can get her brothers right, why did they have to get her all wrong and make her look stupid, ugly and so ridiculously _cheerful?_ Was she always like that? Jin frowned. Beside her, Zuko looked as unamused.

Sixth, and Jin especially cringed at this part, they made her look like a huge flirt. Which she wasn't. Okay, so she asked Zuko out on a date first. But that was only because she was sick of waiting for him to notice her. She didn't think that she had to take the traditional route—where the boy had to ask her out first—when it came to dating. If she wanted something, she usually went out and got it. And if it wasn't meant for her, if he didn't like her back, then she didn't want to wait forever, sitting there on the teashop and pining for him, just waiting for the day when he would notice her. She'd rather know right then and there so she wouldn't waste her time. That didn't mean she was a flirt. Okay, so maybe it was slightly flirtatious of her but she had never thought that people might view it as_ that_ way.

At least she wasn't the only one who was mortally embarrassed during their date scene. Which she was confused on how people found out about it in the first place. They did however; get a lot of things wrong.

Jin scowled as she watched her thinner and uglier counterpart walk around and hide in bushes, giving an occasional peep at Zuko as he and his uncle walked on.

"Uncle! I feel like someone is watching me!" Actor Zuko said dramatically as he looked around.

"You stalked him?" Sokka hissed as he leaned forward.

"Shh," Jin whispered as she pushed him backwards, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Haha! How right you are! I am in fact, watching you!" Actress Jin declared as she jumped out the bush.

Actor Zuko gave a really loud gasp while Actor Iroh merely indulged himself with another slice of cake. Actor Zuko stepped backward and howled, "Oh no, uncle! We have been discovered! We shall be turned in to my sister! We're doooomed!"

Zuko groaned loudly from beside her.

Actress Jin suddenly gave a coy smile and she suddenly swayed her bony hips as she walked towards him. Jin felt heat creep up her face. Actress Jin then held a hand out to him, touching his right cheek and saying seductively, "I _am _watching you. But not for the reasons you think. I am watching you because I think I find you handsome."

Sokka leaned forward again and said to Zuko this time, "Did she really say that? And did you look as stupid?"

"Shh!" Zuko snapped, his face reddening. He shoved Sokka backward with his elbow.

Actor Zuko stared at her and said just as sexily, "Earth Kingdom peasant, even though you are poor, uncultured and boorish, I feel like, I am attracted to you."

Actress Jin had a triumphant smile on her face as if she accomplished something particularly amazing and then she went nearer towards him and said demurely, "I would like to invite you to go somewhere with me _alone _sometime. Let us go on a date together."

"I do not know if it is wise to date an Earth Kingdom peasant…" Actor Zuko mumbled.

"My nephew shall accept!" Actor Iroh declared.

Actress Jin started jumping up and down and she said triumphantly, "Haha! I knew you could not agree! My Earth Kingdom charms and beauty are too difficult to resist! And I spread an extra gallon of perfume to hide my peasant smell!"

Jin scowled at that comment.

The Actress Jin then trilled as she skipped away, "I shall meet you back here at seven o'clock sharp!"

Actor Zuko glared at his uncle and Actor Iroh shrugged and said, "What? You need to get out some more."

Sokka howled with laughter and he leaned forward again saying, "She asked you out? _She asked you out?_ But you said you were the one who asked her out! And Jin, did you really ask him out in that way? Did you really stalk and bother and pester him until he said yes?"

"Shh!" Jin and Zuko snapped in unison. They both pulled Sokka back as they shrank in embarrassment; Jin in particular, had turned into a dark shade of red. On second thought, it was a horrible idea to have her acted out on stage.

Soon, Zuko and Jin's respective actors were already on date and so far nothing good came out of it. Their awkward first date, which was very embarrassing to being with, was amplified to a degree that was beyond tolerable. Zuko was getting the worse end of the lot.

"I shall juggle for you now!" Actor Zuko declared for no apparent reason as Actress Jin jumped up and down in her place looking like a peppy child. Jin sighed as she tried to hide her head.

Sokka roared with laughter. He snickered, "You juggled for her?"

Toph on the other hand scowled, "I can't believe I'm missing all of this!"

Katara and everyone else tried to hide their laughter and amusement. Then throughout their whole date, Actor Zuko was the picture of a polite gentleman while Actress Jin wolfed down her noodles. Actress Jin said, "I love noodles!" as a long stringy piece stuck out of her mouth. Toph laughed loudly and said, "That's some appetite you got there Smiley!"

Jin groaned. Oaky, so maybe she had a big appetite. And maybe she ate a little too fast. But she did not eat like _that._

Then there was the Jin is not my girlfriend fiasco. Jin wondered how they could've gotten that. Everyone in the Fire Nation audience cheered as Zuko declared, "She is not my girlfriend!"

Zuko flushed with embarrassment and avoided looking at Jin who was trying her best not break down and lose her patience and calm. Behind her Sokka and everyone else laughed in mirth. But she didn't feel as amused. How could she when people of the Fire Nation saw her as some vapid, ignorant and extremely ugly girl? How could they accept this person to be their prince's girlfriend? Jin never cared what other people thought before. Why did she care now?

It only took one more embarrassing portrayal before she would snap.

"How did they even find out about this?" Zuko growled as their horrendous dinner continued.

Jin shrugged but then as the waiter served a piece of cake (which Actress Jin sloppily ate) the two for them sat and up and said in unison as they looked at each other, "Iroh."

Zuko groaned. Of course! His uncle has to be behind all this! It would make sense since they got all their information from rumors. If his uncle went to them and offered this juicy bit of information under an alias, they would be sure not to refuse.

Suddenly Actor Zuko looked at Actress Jin and said in husky voice, "I have something to show you."

The two of them left the restaurant and the backdrop changed to a plain dark wall. Suddenly Actor Zuko starts doing a weird dance combined with Firebending. Actress Jin gave a dramatic gasp, "You're a Firebender?"

"Don't be afraid, baby. Zuko will not burn you down and reduce you to ashes. I am in fact that prince of the Fire Nation but because of your astounding Earth Kingdom beauty—''

Here everyone in the Fire Nation audience booed. Jin snorted.

"—I think I have fallen in love with you. For you only, I shall renounce and turn my back on my country!" Zuko declared dramatically as he grabbed Jin by the waist and pulled her close.

The boos grew louder and Jin felt as if she was suffocating.

"Oh, Zuko," Jin sighed dreamily. The boos reached a fevered and heightened pitch.

Actor Zuko then did a firebending move and with the help of some pretty good special effects he managed to produce an elaborate looking heart made out of fire.

He then declared to Jin boldly, "My heart burns for you."

The Fire Nation crowd lost it. Their boos became louder. People were yelling, "Burn the Earth Kingdom wench!"

"How dare he fall for someone so ugly?"

"I say we throw her in a ditch!"

The room suddenly spun and it became a hundred degrees hotter. Jin felt her chest tighten. She felt as if all eyes, everyone was looking at her. She felt like puking and throwing up. Vaguely she could feel Zuko's hand on her shoulder asking her if she's okay. She could hear Aang calling out to her but he sounded so distant. From behind her she could hear the concern of Sokka's voice. Then it suddenly felt so crowded as all her friends circled her.

Why did this bother her so much?

Why did she care about the fire Nation's perception of her?

Why does it matter to her so suddenly?

She was suddenly too dizzy to answer. She needed some air.

Ignoring everyone's voices and concerns, she stood up and left her seat, hurrying to go outside.

* * *

"Jin?" Zuko softly said as Jin tried her best to keep it together. She didn't understand how this could affect her so much. She was usually very confident and so sure of herself. But after seeing how the Fire Nation people portrayed her, how they saw her, how they reacted towards her, she suddenly felt so irrationally small. Like she wasn't good enough to be Zuko's girlfriend. Which was stupid of course because she knew that she tried the best she could to be a good girlfriend to Zuko and to make their oftentimes complicated relationship work? For Spirit's sake she stuck with him even after he lied to her and betrayed her.

She didn't answer him. She tried to focus. She tried to get past her turbulent emotions. It was a stupid thing to get upset about. Hardly worth the fuss. Come on Jin. Tell him that you're fine. Smile at him. Go back to the theatre. Tell him that you just needed to get some air. But then she remembered how ridiculously cheerful her actress played her out to be.

And then what came out of her mouth was, "They hate me."

Her voice sounded strong but Jin still looked upset. Suddenly, two strong, sinewy arms circled her waist and a quiet voice said, "It's just a play. A really, _stupid_ play, if I might add."

Jin looked away and said bitterly, "Doesn't change anything. They still hate me."

"Yeah, well they hate me too. Hey, don't look at me like that," Zuko said as he gently forced Jin to look up to him with his finger.

"I just turned my back on my nation…_for you_," Zuko added with a small smirk and he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"I don't care. It doesn't matter. Everyone in there thinks that I'm clueless, stupid, ignorant, self-absorbed floozy who's just concerned about ruining a respectable Fire Nation prince's reputation and career!" Jin said losing her calm. She started to feel ridiculously self-conscious.

"And why do you care? You've never let things like these get you down before," Zuko pointed out.

"That's different," Jin whispered.

"How so?"

Jin didn't answer him for awhile. She bit her lip. She then blurted out what she didn't want to say a while ago, "I just don't want to disappoint you Zuko. Someday you're going to become the Fire Nation prince again. I don't want people to get mad at you…just because you're dating me. I just…I just don't want you to think that you could've done better if you dated someone from the Fire Nation."

Zuko chuckled and Jin glowered at him, annoyed. She was talking about something serious. He then placed both of his hands firmly on her hips and he began to sway, moving Jin along with him. Jin rigidly resisted him at first, feeling depressed and unhappy and upset. He started humming a familiar tune as he swayed with Jin. Jin scowled, looked up at him and said, "What are you doing?"

He continued to hum the tune. Jin found it so incessantly and annoyingly familiar. Like she had heard it from somewhere.

He then sang in a low voice,

"_It's a long, long way to Ba-Sing-Se_  
_But the girls in the city_  
_They look so pretty!_  
_They kiss so sweet_  
_That you really got to meet_

Jin laughed along with him, recognizing the old song. She finished the last line, _"The Girls from Ba Sing Se."_

Zuko gently forced her to face him. He then kissed her forehead and mumbled into it saying, "I guess you're right that I would be better off with someone from the Fire Nation."

Jin frowned.

H then added after seeing her expression, "But…"

Zuko laughed lightly and stroked her hair, "I don't know about you, but I heard that the girls from Ba Sing Se…they're a lot prettier than girls we see here in the Fire Nation…."

He tickled her and his fingers stroked her ribcage causing her to erupt into giggles. Jin laughed and she began to poke and pinch him as she tried to avoid his quick fingers. Zuko then managed to finally catch her, hooking her by the elbow saying as he kissed her nose, "And I also heard that they kiss pretty well too."

Jin smiled at him, feeling a lot better than she had before.

* * *

Jin and Zuko returned (and everyone fussed over Jin for a good five minutes) and for the next few scenes, Zuko and Jin weren't featured as much, much to their relief. Mostly it revolved around the Dai Li and Jet turning into a zombie. When the piece of rock fell on him, Zuko could only retort a question on whether Jet had truly died. No one gave him a proper answer. And after a few scenes more, he had completely forgotten about the matter. There was a small uncomfortable hiccup in which he and Katara started flirting and Zuko could barely stand looking at Jin, his girlfriend. Jin however, took it all in stride and even laughed along with others. Aang however wasn't as graceful. He stood up and stalked off, looking flustered and annoyed.

Jin stared after Aang sympathetically and slapped Sokka when he asked for some fire flakes and fire gummies from Aang. Zuko on the other hand, lost all the previous awkwardness he felt as soon as he realized that his betrayal scene with his uncle was coming up.

"Well, my brother. What's it going to be? Your nation or a life of treachery ," Actress Azula cackled maniacally.

Actor Zuko began to look confused as he scratched his head. Actor Iroh then drank from a bowl and said, "Choose treachery, it's more fun."

He did a thumbs-up as Zuko started to walk towards him. Zuko perked up. Maybe they got the rumors wrong. Maybe they got the whole story wrong. Maybe he would not look like a total jerk at all, betraying his uncle like that. Apparently Actress Azula also thought so. She said disbelievingly, "No way!"

Zuko looked at Jin and saw that she was leaning forward in anticipation. She had that hopeful look she always gets in her eyes. Zuko didn't want her to be disappointed.

Actor Zuko stopped in front of his uncle and to Zuko's shock, he pushed him backwards causing him to trip. The cake and the bowl of tea spilled over and crashed onto the floor and his uncle stumbled in a very pitiful but almost comical manner. Zuko's heart sank and he could feel the disappointment Jin was emanating.

"I hate you, Uncle!" Actor Zuko declared as he pointed at his uncle. He then added as he walked towards Actress Azula, "You smell and I hate you for all time."

Actress Azula gave a triumphant smile as the two of them walked off stage. An Earth Kingdom banner fell atop the Actor Iroh and Jin couldn't hide the gasp of shock that escaped from her mouth.

"You didn't really say that, did you ?" Katara said as she turned to face Zuko.

Jin shook her head and said firmly, "He didn't. I just know that he wouldn't. Zuko would never say something like that. You wouldn't, right Zuko?"

She looked at him pleadingly, as if she was begging him to say the words she exactly wanted to hear.

Conflicting feelings of guilt and anger rose up from inside him. Zuko couldn't bear to look at Jin and the expression on her face. Zuko looked away from the two girls and said somberly, "I might as well have."

Jin gave a heavy sigh, patted his arm and looked away. She was obviously trying not to show him that she was not upset with what she saw. But there was no point in denying it. The damage had already been done. She had already seen what he did to his uncle. She had already seen a fraction of his darker side.

And he was utterly ashamed for it.

The next few scenes weren't as entertaining. It featured mostly Zuko as the great man who brought the Resistance down. He watched in horror as Actress Jin (who was singing a song about rainbows) and her brothers plan an attack against the Dai Li when suddenly he and his sister barged in from behind a curtain of rocks. Actress Jin of course, looked completely unaware that her boyfriend was about to singlehandedly bring the Resistance down and embarrass her in front of all the Resistance Members at the same time. Jin was still singing a song and drawing a huge heart over a map of the Dai Li underground headquarters when Actor Zuko and Actress Azula started firebending all over the place.

Apparently it took five dead people and her screaming brother to get Actress Jin's attention. The Fake Ge Jiang roared, "What is the meaning of this?"

"We're getting attacked silly!" Actress Jin giggled as she gave Ge Jiang a light punch on the arm.

"Didn't you notice?" Actress Jin squealed to an annoyed looking Actor Ge Jiang. Jin snorted. Again, she repeated, she did not act like that.

Jin scowled. Having to go through this particularly difficult moment once again was torture enough. She didn't want to add her overly-annoying doppelganger into the mix anymore.

Actor Ge Jiang was not amused. He grimly pointed at Zuko and said, "I mean what is the meaning of _that_. Do my eyes deceive me or is that your new boyfriend whom you have said that he is a sworn loyal ally of the Ba Sing Se Resistance?"

Actress Jin, who looked so happy and cheerful, had a momentary lapse from her happiness as she gave a scandalized gasp as she neared Actor Zuko. She looked at him as if she hadn't noticed him before and she said in a rather shocked tone, "Is that you…Zuko?"

Actor Zuko looked slightly remorseful as he said, "Yes, it is in fact me Jin."

"What are you doing here?" Actress Jin asked.

Actor Zuko said in a slightly sheepish tone, "I am here to bring the Ba Sing Se Resistance down."

"What? But you said that you loved me and that you would turn your back on your nation just for me? Zuko! Whatever happened to all that?" Actress Jin said as she broke into hysterics.

"Whoa. I can see why you guys have some issues!" Sokka whistled.

"_Shh!"_ Jin and Zuko snapped as their attention focused directly on the stage. They were both so absorbed on the scene before them. Jin in particular did not want to relive the whole ordeal. But she couldn't help the emotions that bubbled and rose from inside her as she watched the whole thing unravel. The feelings of shame and embarrassment rushed back from inside her.

At least the Actor Zuko had the decency to look sheepish. He said dramatically, "Don't cry baby. I still love you. But duty calls. You know, I could still make you my girl in the Fire Nation."

"Haha! My brother has tricked you into loving him! Now we shall bring the Ba Sing Se Resistance down!" Actress Azula crowed.

Actress Jin looked surprised.

Actress Azula caught the expression on her face and she said slyly, "I bet you thought that he truly loved you, didn't you? Aha! The Fire Nation prowess has tricked you poor simple-minded Earth Kingdom people once again!"

Jin seethed as Zuko tried to avoid her gaze.

Actress Jin finally had the good sense to snap out of her deliriously happy state. She stomped towards Actor Zuko, glowered at him and slapped him hard across the face saying, "You lowly underhanded scum! I can't believe I ever loved you! I hate you! I hate you for all time and I hope you die!"

Actor Zuko growled and shoved her backwards, "I hate you too! It was stupid and ridiculous of you to think that I would actually like you!"

"It's stupid of _you_ to think that I would actually like a loser like you!" Actress Jin spat back as she also stepped forward and shoved him backwards.

"Wait, does this mean we're breaking up?" Actor Zuko incredulously asked after a second's pause.

"No, not _we. Me._ I'm breaking up with _you_!" Actress Jin snapped.

"No! I betrayed you first so that means—''

"Shut up! I'm the one breaking up with you—''

"No I am—''

"You just can't stand that someone as high and mighty as you got dumped—''

Jin exhaled loudly, trying to calm herself down as she forced herself to watch the scene before. It would have been comedic if it weren't for the fact that it only reminded her of her and Zuko's intense argument back in Ba Sing Se. She couldn't bear to look at Zuko in eye. Apparently Zuko felt the same way. He rigidly sat on his seat and stonily watched the stage as Actor Zuko and Actress Jin continued to bicker and argue.

"Enough arguing! I say brother, we blow this place down!" Actress Azula snapped and declared. Then with one quick flick of her wrist, a stream of ice-blue lightning flew from her hands and it hit the ceiling. Rocks began to fall all over the stage and a troop of fire Nation soldiers marched up to the stage, chaining and imprisoning Resistance members and Earth Kingdom civilians.

"No! Sister! Because of your incompetence and foolishness, you have cost us the Resistance and the war! Noooo!" Actor Ge Jiang declared.

"I suppose I should give you my thanks, Jin of Ba Sing Se, great fool of the Earth Kingdom," Actress Azula snickered as chaos ensued.

The Fire Nation audience cheered and howled in approval. The fake rocks began to fall on the stage. One of them toppled in front of Actor Ge Jiang who scrambled away. Actor He Shen sang a song of distress as he ran around in circles around the stage. Actress Azula howled with laughter and satisfaction as she stood atop a raised platform watching the pandemonium that broke out from in front of her. Jin gripped her armrests tighter. It was like going through the whole thing all over again.

But the worst part was, when a piece of rock fell on top of Actress Jin. Actress Jin , writhed and moved about from underneath the rock. Actor Zuko, who remained stationary throughout the whole thing suddenly noticed that Actress Jin was about to be crushed by a huge piece of rock.

"Zuko! Help me!" Actress Jin called out.

Actor Zuko made a motion towards her but Actress Azula interrupted him by saying, "Going back to your life of treachery, I see? And all for some poor, Earth Kingdom peasant! What's it going to be brother, your stupid girlfriend or a life of honor and glory?"

"Zuko…please. I didn't mean all those things I said about you earlier," Actress Jin pleaded.

Jin felt as if she was choking. Her throat and windpipe felt as if it was clogged up. Was she really that weak when the Resistance crumbled?

"Are you really sure you don't want to give up Earth Kingdom loyalty to be in the Fire Nation and to be able to be with me and be my girl?" Actor Zuko asked hopefully.

"What? Of course, I shall not do that!" Actress Jin declared.

"Oh. Well, that kind of makes it a lot more difficult to save you," Actor Zuko informed her.

"But Zuko, you told me that you loved me! That you cared about me!" Actress Jin pleadingly said. All whimsical amusement and happiness was completely gone from her by now.

Actor Zuko looked as if he was struggling with a moment of indecision. Finally, he stared at Actress Jin firmly and said in a hard voice, "I'm sorry, Jin. But you are wrong. I have never loved or cared about you."

The last few words sent Jin keeling as Actress Azula laughed triumphantly, Actor Zuko joined her and together they sped away as the rocks crushed everything in the Resistance including its members and her brothers. Actor He Shen sang one last song as the fake rocks continued to fall. His off-pitch voice mingled with the roars and cheers of approval from the Fire Nation audience.

They made Jin feel sick.

Zuko grabbed her right hand, twined his fingers around it and squeezed it comfortingly. Jin still felt awful. She was vaguely aware that everyone was looking it at her, as if expecting her to cry or to break out in tears or to storm out again.

Jin bit her lips.

She had already stormed out once, in a fit of dizzy emotion. Doing it twice however, was just plain stupidity. She didn't want people to think that she was that sensitive or that weak or that overly-emotional. Especially since the big fight was coming up.

Jin squeezed her eyes shut, counted to ten and hoped that by the time she finished counting, the scene before her would just end.

* * *

"Where's Jin?" Zuko asked miserably as he sat on the floor, staring despondently on the ceiling. He felt so empty and angry at himself. How could he just treat his uncle in that way? How could he just betray Jin like that? As soon as they heard the gong that signaled the intermission, Jin had escaped as fast as she could away from everyone else and Zuko had not seen her since. He was a little afraid that the stupid play might have re-opened some old wounds.

"Eh, she went to get some food. I just saw her lining up for some spicy pretzels," Toph shrugged dismissively. Zuko frowned and tried to keep all the anger and guilt he felt at bay. How could he be so misguided, so cruel, so…evil? He had never realized how his past actions must have affected other people.

"Jeez. Everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual and that's saying something," Toph said as Zuko heaved a great, heavy sigh. She sat down next to him.

"You don't get it. It's different for you. You get a muscley version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks," Zuko growled as Toph leaned against the wall and smiled to herself.

"Yeah, that's pretty great," Toph chuckled.

"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shove them back in my face. My Uncle. He's always been on my side even when things were bad. He was there for me. He taught me so much and how do I repay him ? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret and I may never get to redeem myself," Zuko said morosely as he lowered his head and tried not to think about his uncle too much. It made him feel upset.

Toph opened her mouth ready to say something when Zuko spoke again, "And Jin. She was the first person in my life, aside from my uncle and mother, who actually cared about me. Who actually treated me with respect and compassion. Who actually trusted me enough, despite knowing who I am and the kind of person I'm known for, to be part of the Resistance. And I just…I just turned around and betrayed her. Just like that," Zuko sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He added, "I will never be able to earn atonement. Or forgiveness for all that I've done."

Toph gave Zuko a firm pat on the shoulder and chuckled as she said, "You have redeemed yourself to your Uncle. You don't realize it but you already have."

"How do you know?" Zuko skeptically said.

"Because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you," Toph said as she gave him a quick smile.

Zuko lowered his hood and smiled back as he said, "Really?"

"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying," Toph added just as quickly.

"Oh, sorry," Zuko replied.

"But it was also very sweet. All your Uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud," Toph told him.

Zuko smile grew wider. Toph then added, "I wouldn't worry about Smiley too much if I were you, either. Past is past. She understands that. She also understands that you didn't really want to hurt her. And that no matter what people say about you, she knows that you really still care about her. I know that too."

"You do?"

"Of course. I can tell when you're lying you_ idiot_. And if you had been lying about your feelings towards Jin, then I would have knocked the daylights out of you weeks ago," Toph grinned as she elbowed Zuko lightly on the arm.

They sat in silence for awhile.

"She really cares about you too. And she's proud of you Zuko. She doesn't show it much. Or say it. But she's proud of you. She's proud and happy that you've finally made the right decision. She's happy that she was right to trust you all along," Toph continued.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Sparky. Would I lie to you?" Toph snorted.

"But how did you know that?"

"Oh…I have ways," Toph smirked mysteriously. She then gave him a light punch on the shoulder.

Zuko cringed and said, "Ow. What was that for?"

Toph shrugged and said as she looked up, "That's how I show affection."

Suddenly a little boy sped past the, stopped briefly to give a curious stare at Zuko and said, "Your Zuko costume is pretty good but your scar's on the wrong side!"

"The scar is not on the wrong side!" Zuko hotly said as he sprang up. As he did so, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry—''

Zuko paused after realizing that that someone was Jin. He stared at her awkwardly, as she stood before him, holding a steaming hot, chili pretzel in her hand. He expected her to ignore him or get mad at him or possibly even slap him. But instead, she merely placed a small and slender hand on his hood and drew it closer telling him, "Be careful. People might recognize you."

"They won't. They think that I have a Zuko costume on," Zuko distastefully said.

"Well, I think you still look at lot handsomer than that Zuko on their stupid poster," Jin smiled as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Hey! I'm still here!" Toph barked. Jin and Zuko stopped their kiss midway and laughed.

"Hey…are you okay?" Zuko asked in concern as soon as they stopped laughing.

"I'm fine. Look, I got you a chili pretzel," Jin said as she smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" Zuko asked again, his eyes wrapped in concern. Jin stared at him about to give him another smile. But then she remembered her ludicrously cheerful counterpart in the Ember Island Players' play and she immediately stopped herself.

Truthfully, she said, "No. Not really."

"I'm sorry," was all that Zuko managed to say. He looked at her and saw from the expression on her face, a vague idea on what she really thinking about.

"It's not your fault," Jin added.

Zuko grabbed her hand and stroked it softly saying, "Jin?"

"Hm?"

"The thing with the Ba Sing Se resistance…"

Jin frowned, completely disliking the topic.

Zuko plowed through nonetheless.

He said, "It wasn't your fault either."

* * *

The next few minutes of the play were agonizing. Zuko of course, died, his last words being "Honor!" and Aang died as well. Jin was never mentioned again. And that was absolutely fine with her. She had enough hate from the Fire Nation to go around for decades. All of them left the theater feeling a lot worse than they had ever felt before. Sokka, Suki, Katara, Toph and especially Aang in particular scrambled to their rooms without as much as a good night. They were completely robbed of their mood. They just saw the Avatar monumentally fail and be killed, encourage by the Fire Nation audience. It was singlehandedly the worst thing to happen to them since they had arrived from the Fire Nation.

Zuko tried to sleep but he found himself unable to. He felt more and more restless, as he tried to go into slumber. The whole play had just upset him more than he thought it did. It made him feel unsettled and it was as if a small, annoying wasp-bee, niggled and stung at the back of his mind relentlessly. What upset him the most was the part when he died and screamed out honor. It made him realize that death was a lot closer than he thought. Their upcoming confrontation with the Fire Lord and his sister was so near. And when they step into that battle field that could very well be their last day here on Earth.

He heard the loud, boisterous cries of the people from the outside and he knew that by this time, the Ember Island Players would be giving a free showing of another, smaller and shorter play.

He stood up, quickly sung a shirt over his head and began to walk towards the outside. He knew that it was probably stupid having for him to watch another one of their hateful performances. But he was feeling restless and something as absurd as their silly little plays were the perfect thing to distract him.

Just as he was about to leave their house, he was suddenly greeted by a quiet voice saying, "And where are you going?"

He whirled around, expecting it to be someone like Katara or Suki (who despite trusting him now, would not fail to accuse him of doing treacherous deeds, especially after seeing the play) and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was Jin. She looked tired but her eyes were wide open.

"You didn't sleep well too huh?" Zuko said empathically.

"Yeah. I feel so out of it tonight," Jin sighed as she walked towards him.

Zuko wrapped an arm around her waist and said, "Maybe it was the play."

Jin shrugged before saying, "I guess so. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? Anyway, where were you planning to go anyway?"

"I was going to watch the Ember Island Players, again."

"Again? " Jin raised a brow.

"They usually have post-play shows," Zuko explained briefly.

"I would've thought that out of all of us, you would be the one to have had enough of their stupid plays," Jin said in surprise.

"Just wanted to tire myself out so I could get some sleep," Zuko shrugged.

"Wait. I'm coming with you. I have to get my shawl first," Jin said and just as she was about to leave, Zuko grabbed her hand and said, "Here." You can have my coat."

He then grabbed and took off his hooded cloak and handed it to Jin and together they started walking back to the main square of Ember Island. Jin was a little worried at first that without Zuko's hooded cloak, he would be recognized but Zuko simply re-assured her that people would just think that he was wearing a "Zuko" costume.

As they walked Jin examined Zuko's serious and drawn face and stared at his scar, which she hadn't really intended to do. But Zuko's' scar was just so mysterious and it only re-inforced the aura of enigma and ambiguity he seemed to carry around. What Jin was so curious about was where he got his scar. He knew that it was a little strange, that she his girlfriend had no idea as to how he got his scar. But she was always too afraid to ask. And Zuko never really mentioned or liked to talk about it. It was just one of those topics that were off-limits, even though no one really said anything about it. Jin of course tried a few times to push past the boundaries but for the most part, Zuko remained strictly closed off. Of course she heard some rumors, read a few excerpts from the History books. But she never really believed them. She always carried a small sliver of doubt and skepticism with her regarding stories about Zuko's scar.

"Zuko.." she began, meaning to ask Zuko about his scar.

"Hm?" he angled his face towards her, in his usual serious demeanor.

"Nothing," Jin quickly said, a little sheepish for even wanting to ask that question.

They continued to walk in silence within continuing to stare at Zuko's start, her mind trying to distract the despondency she felt about the play with musings regarding Zuko's scar. She was distracted from her silent walk and concentrated stares on Zuko's scar by the sudden barrage of people. Someone bumped her form the side and Zuko had to steady her to keep her balance. From the center, they could hear a presenter narrating something.

"Let's go. I think that I could see a spot where we could squeeze in," Jin said. She grabbed Zuko's hand and together the two of them crammed through a narrow space between a couple of people. Jin stood on her tiptoes to get a better look.

Zuko's chest tightened as soon as he saw what was happening. It was him. Or rather an actor playing him without a scar. And Zuko understood what they were about to present. He tugged at Jin's hand and said, "Come on Jin. Let's go."

Jin turned to look at him and said, "But—''

Before she could finish whatever she had to say, the presenter's voice boomed, "The prince of the Fire Nation had disrespected his own father by speaking out against a respected general in an important meeting. Citizens of the Fire Nation…you all know…that there is only one way to solve this…"

The presenter stared at all of them slyly, giving them a full, long look and relished in satisfaction as everyone in the audience screamed, "Agni Kai! Agni Kai! Agni Kai!"

Zuko tugged at her, pleadingly begging her to leave. But Jin somehow, was fixated with the scene before her. It made her curious. Why did Zuko not have a scar yet? She stood still there and Zuko, who was weary of trying to convince her to leave finally, relented and sighed as he stood beside her and dropped his hands to his sides.

"Jin…"

"Zuko…what's an Agni Kai?" Jin asked, completely transfixed with the scene before her and the roar of the audience, screaming "Agni kai".

Zuko couldn't answer her.

"That is right. To resolve this, the prince must fight a fire duel, an Agni Kai…with his _own father_!" the presenter declared in a pleased voice. Everyone roared in approval. Jin felt the insides of her stomach churn as she watched Actor Zuko fall on his knees and beg for forgiveness from his father. She watched in complete and total horror as Actor Ozai just simply continued to walk. Towards him, declaring that Zuko needed to learn respect and suffering would be his teacher.

Zuko grabbed Jin's hand and whispered in her ear urgently, "Don't look."

But she looked.

And her heart broke into tiny, little, jagged pieces and the sky crashed around her as soon as she saw the fake Ozai firebend at his own son, scarring the actor Zuko, propelling him into screams that shattered the evening and pierced through her ears. Suddenly a huge swell of cheers surged forth from the crowd and Jin felt so empty and desolate.

She thought that she would feel no more emotions like this for the rest of the night. But she was wrong. She couldn't bear to see the Ember Island players perform Zuko's duel with his own father. She couldn't bear to imagine his own face as he saw the actor writhe in pain. She couldn't stand it anymore.

She spun around, faced Zuko and collapsed into his chest, hiding her head beneath it, making small, quiet whimpering noises as she tried to ignore everyone's yells.

"Is it over?" Jin whispered hoarsely.

"No."

Jin sighed.

"I told you not to look."

"I'm sorry."

"Jin, please don't be upset," Zuko pleaded and Jin clung unto him tighter and squeezed her eyes shut even more. How could this people all relish in one person's suffering? It was inhuman. It was too much.

"I can't help it," she said.

"Well, you didn't think that I got my scar from a waterbender, now did you?" Zuko said in a joking manner as he tried to keep things light.

But Jin would not be consoled. She wanted to puke, to vomit, to collapse, to faint, to just get away from it all. She didn't know why she felt this way. Maybe it was because the night was so cold and it made her tummy ache. Maybe it was the stickiness or the heat of the crowd. Maybe it was all those chili pretzels she ate.

Or maybe it was because she finally didn't need to wonder about Zuko's scar anymore.

* * *

_Again, my many apologies for updating late. I have an investigatory project to defend in front of ten panels of judges by the end of March and a paper published by February so as expected I'm a little busy right now. However, that doesn't mean that I'm going to quit on this story. Especially that we are nearing the finale. _

_To those who added me in their favorite authors list, this story to the favorite stories list or story alerted this, I'd like to say: THANK YOU!_

_Special thanks to those how reviewed: smilingcoffee, daveshan, Kaeso Corvinus, jrba95, Dawning Wisdom, nature is the future, Sage of Oblivion, ArrayePL, Panther-Strife, Charmed Ravenclaw and Shakeru. Thanks you guys! You have no idea how much these reviews mean to me. _

_As expected, next chapter update will have a pretty long waiting gap. Just giving you a heads up._

_Please always read and take time to click the review button when you do so._

_Please Review. Don't leave me hanging._

_:D_


	25. An Interlude

**Burning Bright**

* * *

_An Interlude_

_Featuring: A Sky Filled with Firelights—A Room Facing the Sun—Feelings From Below—Several Acts of Thievery—I Love You—Thoughts on Marriage—The Trickling of Time—Musings on Colors—Smell of Home— The Rolling of the Tide—The Terror of the Waves—Waiting—Hearth—A Perfect Fire Nation Stew—Countdown_

* * *

Sometimes, during a quiet evening when the cool breeze slapped along the shores and walls of their beach house and hideout, and the waves softly murmured and lapped against the soft, golden sand, Jin would suddenly wake up, walk out the veranda and stare at the big, dark, inky-black sky and see _them._ _The stars._ The evening stars flickering in the night, twisting and turning in an eternal luminescent dance. They were like the tiny glow of warmth that glinted on the tiny pegs that held each lantern in the Firelight Fountain. The stars were like firelights. It was a sky filled with firelights.

And Jin's heart would suddenly fill with a strange and queer sense of longing and sadness as she stared upon the sky and it would spread quickly and reverberate across her body.

How far was it from Ba Sing Se? Her eyes would travel across the sea and her lips would part and she would murmur, "Very far." And the distance would stab at her heart and chest and her hands would grip the ledge with so much force that it could break. Ba Sing Se must be a million miles away and the thought of it was more than Jin could ever bear.

She longed for the city in all its dirt infested, population riddled, and cacophony-plagued streets. She longed to see the magnificent walls rise and ascend from all sides, enclosing her with a sense of security. She longed for the warm and cozy evenings she spent with her brothers, the dinners by the dim, rationed fire, the thick, goopy stew that He Shen would cook (her brothers had long discovered by then never to let her near a stove) and the small, low, wooden table from where they would gather and eat. She longed for Duan Jie, the noise and clanking of the forge, the feel of heat against her hands, the pleasure of the metal shaping as she hammered at it and when she thought of Duan Jie, a sick bile would rise through her throat. She longed for her Earth kingdom robes, the frayed and tattered dress that hung loosely on her body and gave her a sense of openness. She longed for the smell of the dirt mixed with all the alternating smells of the city and the feel of it as it clung and stabbed at her heels and shoes. She long for the quiet motions of everyday life, the motions of going to work, of paying the bills, of eating a clean and plain meal, the simplicity of waking up every day to go through the mundane shifts of life.

But most of all she longed for the boy in the teashop, the quiet and sullen, handsome boy with the cropped black hair and passionate golden eyes. She longed for his steady footsteps, his sure arm which placed the teacup soundlessly on her table, and his voice which was only to be heard in those rare moments of dubious unwary.

Jin longed, for the image of Zuko standing with the Firelight Fountain glimmering from all around him, flickering and glowing because of his doing, because of his firebending.

Sometimes, Zuko would wordlessly watch the sky with her and as the stars, the firelights shimmered and twinkled across the dark, black sky, Jin would immediately feel a small sense of contentment in her heart, because for a small instant, a quick, fleeting moment, she had recaptured that image again.

And then just as quickly it would be replaced with longing. She longed for him when he was just the handsome tea server who had just moved into Ba Sing Se. She longed for him when he was nothing more to her than just a boy, a simple boy who had a penchant for scowling. She longed for him when it was a time when there were no complications, when things were as simple as trying to catch the attention of the boy who worked in the teashop.

She would catch him staring at her sometimes before his eyes would swiftly flit upwards, into the sky.

And in that moment, she knew that Zuko longed for those moments too.

* * *

Jin loved her room. Zuko, as soon as he had finished dragging her to their impromptu swimming session, had grabbed her by the arm and rushed into the house before anyone else could get a chance to follow. Jin of course, was completely perplexed as to why they had to rush into the house but Zuko re-assured her that them getting there first would be of utmost importance. Jin, though annoyed but slightly curious, nimbly followed him as they crashed through the house and hurried across the stairs and into the hallways containing the rooms.

Jin's foot snagged on a wayward piece of wood and she fell and was momentarily on her knees. Zuko however, quickly grabbed her by the armpits and hoisted her back up. Jin was thoroughly annoyed that she was being handled like some sort of ragdoll.

"Quit it for a sec, would you? What's the rush anyway!" Jin grumbled as she dusted herself off.

Zuko however merely replied with a quick, "Sokka's coming!" before grabbing her wrist and herding her along the halls. Jin of course immediately responded with a stubborn scowl and a resistant plea to get her hand back.

"What's going on?" Jin demanded.

Zuko whirled around to face her and said impatiently, "If we don't hurry, Sokka's going to catch up to us!"

"And what does it matter?" Jin barked. She was feeling a little curious by now and perhaps a small part actually did want to know as to why Zuko did not want Sokka to catch up to them or as to why he was so bent on rushing around the hallways.

Zuko sighed and said peevishly as he roared in her face, "Look, woman, do you want to get the best room in this whole place or do you want Sokka to get it?"

Jin stared at him disbelievingly, confused and surprised that he was so rattled over something as mundane and as ridiculous as a room. And also she was a little miffed at being called and referred to as "woman". She stared at him blankly, raised a brow and said dubiously, "You mean…all this fuss you're causing is because…of who gets the best room?"

Zuko threw his head back and scowled in frustration before staring at Jin with a look on his eyes that clearly said "You don't get it". He then started to pace back and forth in the hallway with his mouth moving rapidly as he began to release a series of mutters. He looked as if he was in the middle of an internal debate. Finally, when Jin heard the distinct heavy footsteps and the loud, boisterous voice of Sokka penetrating through the hallways, Zuko paused, snapped back into focus and looked at Jin as if he was trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. Finally, to Jin's shock and utmost surprise, he sped towards her, grabbed her by the waist and hauled her upwards before carrying her in his arms, bridal-style.

Jin was not pleased.

"Zuko! What do you think you're doing? What's going on? What is wrong with _you_! Let me go!" Jin snapped as she tried to fight off the iron grip that Zuko had her held in. She tried to get off by screaming and kicking and doing generally just everything she could to make him feel uncomfortable.

Finally, they slammed into a room at the far end and Zuko dropped her gently, with a pleased and triumphant expression on his face. Jin stood up and shot him a pointed look, but Zuko was undeterred. He merely raised his arm and gestured for her to look. Jin, although still annoyed and puzzled, sighed, conceding.

She hazarded a glance at the room and once she saw a good look at it, she was immediately sorry that she ever tried to fight Zuko for trying to get there first.

The room was big and wide and the walls were painted a whitewashed yellow giving off the warm, cozy glow Jin sees when she sees a candle flickering in the darkness. A huge window, spread across the wall opposite to her and it provided a stunning view of the entire island, from its crystalline waters to its strong and impressive crags of rocks spiraling and towering across the sea. A thick if not weather beaten carpet extended across the floor and it was colored in bright luminescent patterns reminiscent of fire—bright and pale pinks, glowing oranges, fiery reds. A small, metal chest and a wooden cabinet were positioned at the side and a tiny, unassuming bed was plastered at the other side. A small table stood beside it containing nothing but a bowl full of shells. A lamp fashioned from a couple of translucent seashells hung from the ceiling.

But the most beautiful part of the room was the way the suns hits it. The way it spreads its light across the entire place, illuminating it to a degree that was otherworldly and extremely beautiful. Jin felt a gasp escape her mouth as she looked around it and felt the soft glow of the light flood her eyes and wash over her face.

"This is amazing," Jin said as soon as she remembered to breathe. She rushed towards the window to get a better view of the island.

"Wait a little. It's almost time," Zuko mysteriously said as he pulled her back.

"Almost time for what?" Jin asked inquisitively. Before Zuko could answer, Sokka pulled into her room and let out an annoyed huff, scowling as he said, "Great. As usual, I get the worst room in the whole place."

He stole out of the room muttering curses and scowls and grumblings as he went off, annoyed, in search for a room of his own. Jin looked at Zuko expecting an answer but instead he gently touched her chin and forced her to look outside. Jin felt as if butterflies were rushing and gurgling through her stomach and she felt inexplicably lighter.

It was sunset. And it was so beautiful. Jin trained her eyes over the terrain and a felt a new sensation of awe and wonder. She had never seen a sunset as amazing, as beautiful, as breathtaking as this. Back in the Earth Kingdom they had sunsets of course, but in her old province, Li-Jien, it was hidden by the mountainous terrain on the north, east and west and by the thick and dense woods on the south. And in Ba Sing Se it was hidden by the people, the walls and mostly the fatigue she felt after a long day's work.

But she could see it now. And it was beyond anything she could ever describe. She could see why Zuko was so adamant that she had to get the room first.

"Zuko…it's…it's—''

"See why I told you we had to get here first?" Zuko asked smugly. Jin scowled, irritated with his smug expression.

"Whatever."

"I suppose, now wouldn't be the time to tell you 'I told you so—''"

"Oh, shut up!" Jin said though she was smiling.

"Maybe if you kiss me, I just might," Zuko slyly said. Jin stared at him with a raised brow. Zuko was hardly flirtatious. He was always serious and direct-to –the-point and such a frivolous and fun gesture for him was something completely unexpected to Jin.

"Sure, whatever you say your highness," Jin snickered as she leaned forward and gave him a chaste and quick kiss on the lips. He frowned a little at the word "Your Highness" but quickly regained his bright and happy spirit when Jin made the kiss linger a bit more longer.

"You know why this is called Ember Island?" Zuko asked quietly, his eyes half-lidded as he stared down at her

"No, not really," Jin murmured back.

Zuko smirked and said, "It's because these are one of the few places in the world where you could actually see the sunrise and sunset at the same place. That's why it's called Ember Island. Because the sun rises and leaves here. Setting embers on fire, never for once allowing it to wither."

Jin stared at him, a little transfixed by his explanation.

"And this room…." Jin stared at it once more, completely entranced.

"Provides the best view of the sunrise and sunset. It's what I told you about. The best thing in the Fire Nation is the sun. I had a room in the Palace exactly like this," Zuko said.

"The sun is the first and last thing I see before I wake up or go to bed," Jin murmured, recalling every word Zuko had once said, recalling the conversation they had back in Ba Sing Se, in the distant past. Jin had asked him if had missed the Fire Nation and she had also asked what was the most beautiful thing in the Fire Nation.

Jin now understood why he chose the sun.

"Who owned this room anyway?" Jin asked as she gave it one more look around.

Zuko's mouth drooped and he said in a quiet and sad voice, "I did."

Jin looked at him and tried to find out what sort of emotion he held. But his eyes and face were fathomless. She briefly wondered what made this happy and bright and beautiful place such a sad and cheerless memory for him? What happened here that would make him look so upset? What stories and secrets and skeletons did this room hold? A whole lot of good memories, Jin guessed.

Good memories were always the most painful things in a time of sorrow and war.

Jin tried to wrap her mind around the idea of staying in a room, of sleeping in a bed that once belonged to Zuko. It seemed so heretical of her to do so. Unbelievable, inconceivable even.

The room facing the sun. It had once belonged to Zuko.

Jin wondered why he didn't want to have it back.

* * *

Zuko began to feel a strange sensation whenever he kissed Jin lately. Of course, he always felt strange sensations when he kissed her, mostly because he liked her so much to the point that it hurt but this sensation was entirely _different._

He had first felt it in the cave.

Zuko had taken Jin to a small cave located at the Eastern side of Ember Island, as a way and an excuse for him so that he may get her out of the sun (he was already starting to worry that she might be getting a severe case of sunburn). They had packed a few sandwiches (made by Zuko) and Jin brought along a couple of shawls and together they made the half-a-day journey to the cave. The Avatar had declared that he wanted a day of rest, and Zuko who had long since missed spending time with Jin, quickly obliged. He decided to show Jin the caves, since she's never been there before and he thought that it was a good place for them to practice her swimming since the rocky barriers that are dotted across that particular area prevented the waves from becoming too big.

Zuko had just tried (and unsuccessfully) managed to teach Jin how to do the backstroke and so far she was having a miserable time with it. At any indication that she was about to sink, she would panic, flail her arms and invariably…sink…more than she would have normally would if she just hadn't panicked. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Zuko herded her out of the water and into the cave where they sat and watched as the water peacefully lapped against their toes.

"You know…I'm not too good with swimming," Jin said after a nice, hearty lunch of chicken-hawk sandwich.

"Really? I never really noticed," Zuko said as a sarcastic tone set at the edge of his voice.

Jin wrinkled her nose and said snippily though her lips betrayed a smile, "You know you're starting to sound a lot more like Sokka."

"What's so wrong with that?" Zuko demanded, as he tried to furiously hide his smile.

He elbowed Jin playfully and she quickly returned with a more playful punch in the arm. Zuko, who by then could not contain his ridiculously happy expression, quickly caught it as tiny peals of laughter started to escape from his mouth.

"Oh, so you think this very funny, huh?" Jin snickered and she lunged at him playfully. Zuko quickly stopped her by managing to grab her by the waist but the force of her body slamming into him still managed to force him to lie backwards with Jin lying atop him.

"Yes, of course I think this is funny. I always find _you_ funny," Zuko said through a wave of chuckles and with that he began to tickle her, his fingers brushing and skimming through her rib cage and sides and Jin, who was very, very ticklish, began to laugh. The annoyed expression on her face, which she had desperately tried to craft in an attempt to make Zuko guilty immediately broke.

Jin wondered briefly, why Zuko was suddenly acting so carefree. Normally, he acted so serious and withdrawn and aloof even when they were kissing or hugging. Jin of course, understood him so well by then that she never bothered to play any games with him whenever they decided to be affectionate or whenever they have conversations in general. Zuko thrived on plain, uncomplicated settings that sometimes clashed with Jin's carefree nature but it never bothered her as much. She was completely fine with it though she sometimes yearned for a slight lighthearted moment of fun in their relationship at times. Seeing Zuko in this new stature, made her a little more pleased than she cared to admit.

"Zuko! Zuko, stop it!" she giggled and she tried to swat his hands away.

"Say please!" Zuko demanded.

"_Please_!" Jin choked.

"Okay," Zuko said though he never stopped tickling her.

Jin tried her best to glare at him but it was always ruined by the fact that she continually spouted out laughter, "But you said you'd stop once I said please!"

Before Zuko could retort back an answer, Jin quickly managed to escape from his grasp. Apparently, she was still drunk with laughter since it took her about thirty seconds before she was up in her feet. She hastily tried to scramble back in the water, but Zuko was right behind her, giving a small smirk and a very knowing glance as he pursued her.

She was a goner the moment Zuko realized that Jin was hurrying towards the water. He knew that she was a horrible swimmer and would probably still cringe and hesitate at the first feel of the cool water. She was also still very paranoid over the small hermit crabs that dotted the sand, so as she ran towards the water, she began to move more slowly, trying to sidestep the small and perfectly harmless hermit crabs.

Zuko of course, quickly saw this as his chance. He lunged towards her (in the gentlest way possible) and together they rolled and tumbled together through the sand. They stopped at the edge of the small and narrow shoreline and the swell of the wave momentarily interrupted their little struggle. Zuko had managed to grab Jin in a tight lock grip in the waist and he was staring up at her with an amused expression. Another wave crashed from beneath him and he could feel it soaking his hair and skin.

"Zuko! Let me go!" Jin snarled through gritted teeth and by then, Zuko could tell that the combined feeling of the saltwater splashing through her face and all the hermit crabs that were gathering around them had made Jin more annoyed than playful.

"Maybe I will…if you accept defeat," Zuko smirked.

Jin's eyes darkened and she looked off into the distance, away from his eyes. Zuko could tell that she considering this very seriously. He and Jin, they tended to have a slightly competitive streak. They often sparred with each other and whenever Zuko would win, Jin would say its fine and she's perfectly okay with it though her sulky mood and silent glares said otherwise. Sokka often commented that it was weird that the two of them were so competitive with each other but Jin would only retort that it was good to have a little healthy competition in one's relationship.

Zuko grinned as Jin glared at him. No matter what she said, he knew—she didn't like to lose. Especially to him.

"Well?" Zuko asked with a small smile on his lips.

"How about a draw?" Jin asked hopefully.

"No. I won. _You_ have to admit it."

"You did not!"

"Just admit that I won—''

"First of all, I didn't completely break down in giggles—''

"You did—''

"It's a draw," Jin said firmly and Zuko knew that he probably looked a little lovesick because Jin was demanding for a draw a little bit longer than usual. And he had good reason to.

He had just realized that Jin's hair, which was previously tied into a small ponytail, was slightly unraveled with shots of straight, black hair framing her sides and tumbling down her shoulders. The wind made her look very attractive as it blew past her face and lifted off some of the tendrils from her side. She was wet with seawater and clothed very barely with just a small and skimpy two piece bathing suit, he noticed. And they were in a very compromising position, though of course lately they've been in _many_ compromising positions but for some reason this felt different.

Zuko felt the familiar flush rising through his neck and cheeks whenever he and Jin were ever in extremely close proximity with each other. He also felt it intensify to several magnifying degrees. He suddenly wanted to kiss Jin, wanted to kiss her desperately and passionately.

In a voice that came out in a huskier tone than he intended to, he said, "Maybe if you give me a kiss…we could call it a draw."

Jin smirked and he tried his best to contain himself as she did so. She shrugged and said, "You've got yourself a deal."

And she leaned forward and kissed him, expecting a soft, quick and chaste kiss. Zuko however, had a strange urge to deepen it. He prolonged the kiss and fed it with so much more passion that it surprised Jin a little. Jin looked a little caught off guard by it but she just as quickly she returned them, in a manner that was just as passionate. Zuko didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted this, wanted _her _and he felt a strong hunger, a strong and desperate need to be closer with her.

His hand clutched her waist tighter as Jin's hands suddenly flew to his wet hair and she began to run her fingers through it.

His hand slid further downwards until it reached the small of her back. He could feel Jin suddenly tighten her grasp at his shoulders and as his hand slid down from the small of her back to her thigh, he felt a small flicker of Jin's tongue push past his lips. He suddenly realized how much he loved it. The feeling, the taste of her tongue. He quickly retaliated and together their lips and their tongues started a fast and furious and passionate dance, one in which he didn't want it to stop. His hand which was on her thigh gently pulled her thighs forward, urging her to be closer to him. Jin responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and straddling him.

And he suddenly realized that well, despite the fact that he was a gentlemanly prince who had always believed in abstinence before marriage, he wanted to be with Jin, to be close with her, in _that_ way. Sure, they had sometimes slept together in the same bed and room but nothing ever happened. Mostly because Zuko believed in preserving a girl's honor with dignity and respect and Jin seemed to condemn the idea, anyways. She merely loved the feeling of warmth and comfort that came when Zuko held her with his arms and she slept on his chest.

His and her kisses were becoming a bit more fevered now, a little more hot; they both tasted of saltwater and heat and Zuko absolutely loved it.

Jin, she didn't see much. Her eyes were closed and whenever she opened them it would immediately flash and go directly to Zuko's gold, amber, passion-filled eyes. The fact that she couldn't see him gave her a small feeling of discontent though she didn't think much of it as they continued to kiss. Her hands which were on his hair immediately pulled out from his messy locks of jet black hair and they reached out into and they instantly came into contact with…his…throat? Jin wasn't sure. She opened her eyes, half-lidded but all she saw were his beautiful gold eyes. She could barely stand the wave of heat that washed over her as soon as she looked into them.

She had the undeniable urge to kiss them. She broke free from Zuko's mouth and kissed the lids of his eyes and she also kissed his scar a bit more passionately than she had ever done. Zuko did and said nothing—he merely continued to dot kisses across her jaw. But he felt like he was on fire. The feelings which he always got whenever he kissed Jin pooled at his stomach and well, much to Zuko's embarrassment, they spiraled _downwards._ As they kissed, Zuko tried his best to hide the hardness his shorts contained, the feelings from below that kept threatening to leap outside, ready to reveal themselves at Jin.

His hands which were on her thighs slowly snaked back upwards and Jin could barely calm herself down as it reached a rather compromising area—his fingers skimmed the band of her tiny, tiny shorts. She gave a sharp intake of breath and as soon as she stopped kissing the lids of her eyes, Zuko saw this as his chance to recapture her mouth once again.

They continued to kiss and Jin's hands glided further downwards and she felt Zuko's lean pectorals. Okay, so, that was his chest then. Boldly she slipped her hand down even further until she felt his firm abdomen. The tips of her fingers skimmed the sensitive skin under the band of his swimming shorts. It was at Zuko's jagged intake of breath and the constriction of the hand around her derriere that Jin realized that she was, basically, groping him in the middle of the beach. And apparently Zuko was suddenly aware that he was groping her too. Very publicly if they were allowed to add.

It suddenly occurred to Zuko that he was shirtless and in a pair of shorts and Jin was in a very revealing and skimpy swimsuit. All in all they were making out in front of a cave, in the middle of the beach with very minimal clothing. His princely decorum of course started to nag at him. Or maybe it was just his nervousness and his feeling of hesitancy about the whole thing and what was naturally, about to come next. Mostly because he never tried things like these before and the place they were was not the ideal time or place to experiment. And he knew Jin had felt it too because she was proceeding with the whole thing almost cautiously. Like she was a little afraid somehow. Her hands, which were once splayed across his abdominals, quickly removed themselves from it and Zuko quickly loosed his grip on the band of her shorts.

Zuko continued to kiss her heatedly, trying to once again recapture the passion which they had so fervently displayed. But it was too late now. Visions of war and fire and flames and death and a thousand dead faces suddenly filled his mind along with the image of every single person he had condemned to imprisonment in Ba Sing Se and the picture of his lost mother. Jin for her part saw nothing, nothing but war, flames, blood, death and her mother on fire and try as she might, she could not erase Zuko's face mingled with all those images.

They were drifting now. And although, Zuko didn't want it to happen he was glad that the feelings from below were starting to fade, were starting to disappear. He no longer felt any shame as he and Jin's kisses started to go slower, finally coming to a halt as Jin leaned back away from him and untangled herself from his body.

Zuko stared at her trying to asses, her reaction. Did she enjoy it? Was she terrified by it? Offended? Zuko began to wonder if they should discuss what had just happened, and he could see that Jin was thinking about the same thing to. Then the two of them looked at each other and they came to a silent agreement. It would be awkward and embarrassing and it would probably do nothing but put a chink into their already fragile and volatile relationship.

Zuko nodded and Jin nodded as well, putting the closing conclusion in their silent agreement—one day, maybe, they would be ready to explore with each other, with their bodies, with one another. But right now, with the war ongoing, and with the repulsive truth of their reality looming above them, it wasn't the time.

Jin began to play with a lock of her hair before saying in a quiet voice, "It's almost sunset. Do you want to pack up and leave?"

The question hung in the air and Jin blankly stared at him, waiting for his answer.

Zuko quietly nodded, mourning, longing and at the same time rejoicing and gratifying for the loss of the feelings that had come from below.

* * *

They never talked about the incident that happened in the cave anymore and for the next few weeks; Zuko no longer visited her room or spent much time with her. His free time was mostly centered on formulating new drills for Aang and Jin busied herself with Earthbending training from Toph. It was as if the two of them were almost afraid to be alone in a room together. Alone enough to do some _things, _were their main concerns. Zuko convinced himself that he needs to prepare Aang fully to give him some decent enough Firebending skills and Jin often told herself, as she mastered another drill set by Toph, that she still had a long way to go before becoming a decent enough bender.

The two of them refused to admit that maybe their little stint in the cave had ruptured their relationship a little bit more than they expected. They often told themselves and everyone else who noticed their sudden distance from each other that just like any other couple; they needed to spend some time alone from one another to abate their closeness. Having too much of it, was a little suffocating.

But_ this_ was suffocating, Zuko realized.

He had no idea what caused their sudden distance from one another. Was it his fault? Did he push Jin too far? He frowned. As far as he was concerned, nothing too extreme happened and the two of them stopped with a mutual agreement before anything too serious could occur. He missed her, he was wretched to admit, and he began to wonder with renewed obsession on whether he had done anything wrong. Or stupid. Somehow he always had an aversion to doing all those things.

He had thought about asking Sokka but for some reason, he felt uncomfortable at the prospect. He was of course, aware that between him and Sokka, Sokka pretty much had more experience in these things. But Zuko had a small inkling that despite being knowledgeable in that area, Sokka still probably had not done anything too serious with Suki.

He continued to distractedly mull over this and remained completely oblivious to the conversation surrounding him.

"Can you believe that the price of meat has gone up?" Katara said as he she stirred the thick, boiling pot of stew in a rather angry manner.

"Is this why you're only feeding us potatoes?" Sokka asked ruefully, his face drawn into an irritable expression. Many weeks of eating nothing but mushrooms and cabbages and turnips have caused Sokka to be in an often temperamental mood.

Katara looked up, gave him a pointed glare and snapped, "You try trying to stretch our budget enough to buy meat!"

Sokka then opened his mouth and the two siblings launched into another heated debate. Toph of course merely rolled her grey eyes in pragmatic indifference while Aang and Suki tried to hold both Katara and Sokka from blowing up into a full-fledged fight. As their little quarrel ensued, Zuko was immediately drawn back from his thoughts by a loud sigh. He looked up and was surprised to see Jin sitting next to him.

He felt his throat go dry but he managed to choke out, "Looks like Sokka is having a bad night huh?"

To his relief, Jin offered him a small smile and she said quietly, "I would have a bad night too if I ate nothing but runny vegetable soups and stews for a whole week."

They laughed together and with a start, Zuko realized that this was the first time since the cave incident that they had even talked to each other without the feeling of emptiness punctuating their every word. He looked at Jin's grimacing face as she stared into the watery bowl of potato stew Katara had prepared. With the war raging on to new, magnifying degrees, the prices on various Fire Nation products have risen up considerably and that invariably included meat. They had gone through one whole week without having the luxury of meat—of course, they could've been worse off but having a meager amount of food has never failed to put everyone in a bad mood.

"I wonder when the stupid prices could go down again," Jin wondered aloud as she tried to force down some of the potato stew.

A thought suddenly occurred to Zuko as he saw a bit of Sokka's blue hand towel as it flashed through the air in his effort to get rid of a honey-wasp that was buzzing low over his head. He stared at Jin slyly and said, "You know, we could get some meat…if we wanted."

"Why? You don't happen to have an entire bag of gold in your pocket do you?" Jin wryly asked him as she gave Zuko a small nudge in the elbow.

"No…I don't. But I've got a better way to get some meat," Zuko murmured and he beckoned her to lean closer. Jin did so and with a conspiratorial whisper Zuko said, "We could steal them."

"That's not a very noble thing for a prince to do," Jin remarked though she suddenly looked excited.

"Well…I'm not exactly a prince anymore," Zuko snickered. He felt a little giddy at showing Jin this aspect of his life. Thievery in itself of course, was a deceitful act, but Zuko often found joy and solace in them, at times of hardships and troubles. It was one of the things that had imprinted itself into his being and he wanted Jin to experience a part of it.

Also, it would be nice to recapture some lost time with Jin. He really wanted to spend more time with her, especially after their momentary lapse in each other's affection. And plus, with all the seriousness regarding the Avatar's training rising up, Zuko's been desperate for another moment of carefree fun. Jin's eyes brightly lit up and her mouth curved into a smile at the prospect of another adventure, another break from the mundane on-goings of their life.

"Need a partner?" Jin asked him.

Zuko snickered and said in a challenging tone, "If you're up to it."

Jin snorted derisively and said, "Of course. The question is if _you_ are up for it."

"I'm the best thief there is," Zuko smugly said as he recounted to her all the acts of thievery he conducted while being the Blue Spirit. Jin laughed along with him and the unsavory and completely disgusting potato stew seemed almost bearable.

When he finished with a, "You could learn a lot from me" Jin smiled at him and shook his hand and together they formed a partnership. And at that very moment Zuko indefinitely knew that somehow, they were right back on track once again.

That very night, Zuko and Jin both slipped into an all-black garb and slowly and quietly they proceeded into the more crowded district of Ember Island. Ember Island was a place that never slept so trying to ease their way into a meat shop was slightly difficult and proved to be an even bigger challenge than Zuko had first imagined. Finally, they settled on stealing meat from a butcher's shop that was tucked away into the upper-eastern side, away from all the merriment and bustle of the crowd.

Zuko learned quickly enough that Jin was a fast learner. She first moved with slow, loud and heavy footsteps but after a few reproaches from Zuko, she padded along in a more silent and nimble manner. At Zuko's instructions they managed to swiftly enter the butcher's shop through the window. They silently crept in and as Jin started to get rows and rows and hooks and hooks of meat from the counter and shelves, Zuko scolds her and tells her a very valuable piece of advice when it comes to stealing things, "Never steal more than what you can carry."

Jin of course, thought that it didn't seem particularly logical. They came here to steal didn't they? Why not steal as much as they could? Zuko of course took the time to painstakingly explain the purpose behind all this and when he had finished, Jin had of course agreed. Another thing that Zuko taught Jin was that time was the epitome of success if they were ever to pull this off. As soon as he finished explaining this to Jin, he immediately dragged her out.

The two of them returned to camp with fresh packets of meat the next day and gave only a mysterious smile when Katara suspiciously drilled them on where they had managed to procure such things. Sokka however, was merely content with the fact that they had meat again and for the first time in days, they managed to have a hearty dinner of fried pork and beef stew. Jin and Zuko gave each other's winks and as Jin slowly pushed the chunk of beef past her lips, Zuko smiled at her and said, "Want to steal some more, partner?"

Jin snickered and said, "Whatever you say Sifu Master-Thief."

And so for three nights in a row they continued their weekly excursions around town to get some meat. They stole other things too—Jin stole a linen blanket, Zuko grabbed a golden anklet for Jin (though he was annoyed to discover that she detested jewelry) and they both managed to grab some fruits and a very huge cantaloupe in the fruits district. Jin however started to feel guilty a few nights on but Zuko quickly assured her that they were stealing from people who deserved to have their stuff stolen. They never stole from anyone poor of course. Zuko had a quick eye for such things and he made sure that they only take from those who were overflowing with wealth and those who we saw were cruel and domineering. Katara of course disapproved but everyone else couldn't care less. They had food and that was all that mattered.

Jin discovered that the feeling was indescribable—a new sense of freedom accompanied here whenever they stole something. It was liberating in some sort of way and the most important part was the fact that it was _distracting._

She had a lot to think about lately. And that's exactly what she needed—a distraction. She thought about her brothers—Ge Jiang and he Shen—and how far away they were and how there would be a very distinct possibility that she would never see them again. She thought about her father and she wondered on what had happened to him and whether he would be okay. She thought about her mother, her sweet and graceful mother, who was dead and gone and lost in the fragile recesses of time. But mostly she thought about Zuko.

Zuko and what happened at the cave. Yes, perhaps she was afraid of what would happen next, when all their heated and passionate kisses would progress into something more intense. But she felt more afraid of the fact that as she kissed Zuko, she suddenly saw the war and fire and dead people. But that wasn't what disturbed her the most. What sent her into such a state of discontent was the fact Zuko's faces was intermingled and imprinted into every single one of those images. She was ashamed, she admitted to herself internally.

Perhaps that was why she was so eager to avoid Zuko for the past week. She was ashamed that she even thought about those things while they kissed. And she was also embarrassed at the fact that she pulled away so suddenly. What did he think? That she was afraid enough to back away because of inexperience. Well, that was partly the reason but still.

What was wrong with her? It was so frightening to see how she could never separate even Zuko from that aspect in her life. She didn't want it to be like that. She had too much of the stupid war to go around for centuries. And that was why she pulled away. Because she was suddenly afraid—afraid and angry at herself for closing up again. For failing to even preserve the beauty and simplicity of her and Zuko's relationship. He deserved better than that. She owed him better than that.

And again the ridiculous play came to her mind and she suddenly felt so self-conscious. Zuko liked her and cared about her—did she need to see any more proof or indication? But she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that Zuko was better off with someone from the Fire Nation—someone who the people would easily accept, someone who was just as rich and as royal as him, someone who could understand him and his customs. She was afraid that one day; Zuko would suddenly wake up and realize that too. And that he would go out and leave her.

Jin shook her head and tried to banish those thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to think about that.

Jin, as well as Zuko, continued to lose themselves in their acts of thievery. They continued to steal for a week more when Jin's guilt about the matter finally overrode her insatiable thirst for liberation that stealing brought on. Her conscience and moral ethics started to nag at her and finally, she told Zuko that she didn't want to steal things anymore. It wasn't right.

Zuko was of course, disappointed. He loved those trips because they were such a great outlet for him and Jin to spend time with each other. He did however eventually agree. But not before saying invitingly, "How about one more go? We'll steal something really big. Just to seal off our stealing spree."

Jin reluctantly agreed and by sundown, the two of them had strapped on their all-black garb and sprinted away into the busier district. Zuko decided that if they really wanted to steal something big, they should steal from the Ember Island mayor's house. Jin of course was hesitant about the whole idea. She still got the jitters when they were merely walking in and out of some rich kid's house. Stealing something from the mayor's house however, seemed to be pushing it a little too far.

But Zuko was very confident about the whole matter and he was also very insistent so Jin eventually agreed. The two of them stole away into the night and after thirty minutes of ceaseless running; they reached the mayor's house which was located in the northern and rockier part of Ember Island. Zuko expertly managed to unhook the hinge from the window and he silently pushed it upwards. He nimbly crept inside and helped Jin scramble in as his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness.

"Zuko…I don't think this is a good idea," Jin whispered as soon as she managed to get inside.

"Come on. Maybe we could even steal some war plans," Zuko whispered. That immediately grabbed Jin's attention. She perked up and followed Zuko around with much vigor.

They quietly sneaked all the way upstairs and came to a particular room that looked like a cross between a library and a sitting area. As they slowly walked towards the silent hallways, Zuko suddenly stammered out, "Jin…about…about last time…"

Jin paused from looking at a miniature water fountain standing on an ornate kitchen table and quirked her eyebrows upward. She said, "What?"

"You know…the last time…we were…we were in the cave," Zuko sputtered. He was grateful for the darkness. It hid the blush that was slowly spreading from his neck to his face. Jin stopped and stiffly looked at him.

"What about it?" she asked him, her voice ringing with discomfort.

"I just wanted to apologize…" Zuko began.

"Zuko…is it really a good idea to talk about it in here?" Jin asked worriedly.

Zuko, for some reason, felt irritated. His brows furrowed and he snapped, "Fine! If you don't want me to apologize—if you just wanna—if you're just going to be a complete—''

His words stumbled against each other and in his sudden anger and frustration at Jin, he whirled around from her and stomped away scowling, "Let's just get this over with—''

"Zuko! Wait!" Jin cried as she tried to run after him. Zuko continued to stalk away, trying to keep his feelings of anger and hurt and aggravation at bay. Jin managed to catch up with him and she reached forward and grabbed his wrist and gently tugged at it.

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it! I mean —I want to talk about it, '' Jin said frantically. She felt herself redden and was suddenly aware of all the awkwardness that this topic induced.

"Look, just forget about it okay?" Zuko said tiredly. His cheeks felt inexplicably hot and he knew that he was at the receiving end of another embarrassing episode. He could feel Jin retreat a little, obviously feeling the same thing. Then to his surprise, she suddenly turned away from him and marched off.

"Let's just go home," she snapped.

"But what about the war plans? The mayor's stuff?" Zuko cried out desperately.

"Forget about it," Jin snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have mentioned it—''

"Just stop, okay Zuko?'

"Jin, wait—''

The two of them stopped their little struggle when they heard a loud crashing sound, the distinct voice of someone yelling and the heavy pads of footsteps running up the stairs. The lamps suddenly flickered on and Zuko and Jin froze, quite aware that their little argument had exposed themselves. The door across them suddenly burst open and in came a very angry looking mayor with his scared wife and daughter hiding behind his back. He immediately brandished a whip and barked out something really loud.

"Thieves! Thieves! Guards! Get in here you incompetent nincompoops!" the mayor hollered as he began to unwind his whip.

A stream of guards suddenly entered and before Zuko and Jin could react they immediately sprung into action. Zuko and Jin were quickly engaged into a full out fight with the mayor shouting and yelling and with the wife screaming. Jin was having trouble focusing amidst all the yelling and the noise and she proceeded with the fight in a slightly clumsy manner. Finally, once they managed to fight off a couple of the guards, Zuko hurriedly scrambled towards the window.

Once he finally managed to wrestle the latch free, he pushed the window pane upwards and swiftly jumped out, landing gracefully as he hit the ground. He looked up and saw that Jin was looking out at him, looking afraid. They had come upstairs and the drop from the second floor seemed a long way down. Jin gripped the windowsill tighter and Zuko roared at her, praying and hoping that the guards haven't stirred yet, "Jin! Hurry up and jump!"

Jin bit her lip and with new resolve she griped the window sills tighter and was about to swing her entire body outside when Zuko something move from behind her.

It was the mayor and before he could react, before he could say anything else, he raised his whip and belted an unaware Jin with it. Zuko yelled. Jin didn't cry or scream or looked shock. She merely shuddered and turned around ready to send a kick but the mayor lashed his whip out to her again. It hit across her chest and before Jin could say anything else, she crumpled unto the floor.

From there, Zuko felt nothing. He didn't feel anger. He didn't feel pain. All he felt was emptiness. Hollow, vacant, sunken emptiness. And his visions suddenly turned peripheral and all he could see was Jin lying there, her chest bruised and her back bleeding. He began to panic. What could he do? He should go back up there. But how? He obviously could not take the front door. He couldn't scale all the way to the second floor either. He could run back for the others. But it would be too late by then.

She might never come back.

He was suddenly overcome with a strange new emotion. His head throbbed in a frantic pace, yelling at him that it was his entire fault. That Jin was probably dead because of him. That she may never see her ever again. And his heart registered this and it immediately began to pound against his chest erratically. But it was concave and vacant, try as he might to get some sort of emotion out of it. He suddenly felt so lost. It was as if he was swimming through an endless maze of shapes and patterns and darkness and fire and he couldn't' distinguish one form the other. He realized that he was wringing his hands and that his feet were moving and jumping and tittering. His body was in a mad rush, screaming at him do something. Anything. Just _anything._

Finally, his mind snapped back to focus and he dashed towards the door just as the guards burst through. Zuko was in frenzy by now. His fists flew and he spat fire and raged at them. Where was Jin? What had they done to her? Where were they keeping her? Each question was manifested in an angry kick or growl or punch and when he had finally taken them all out, all he heard was silence.

He madly rushed towards the door, trying to will it to open when he heard a noise from up above. He jerked his head upward and heard a loud voice, lots of screaming and the noises of struggle reverberate from the windowsill. He hurried over to see what was going on.

Suddenly something hurtled out the window and crashed unto him.

It was Jin.

She looked pale and tired and her breath was short and labored. But except for her bloodied wrist where the whip sliced through it, she looked virtually fine. Zuko, to his surprise, managed a choking sound out and tears leaked out of his eyes.

"You're alive," he breathed and the emptiness he felt melted away. He kissed her and she kissed him back and with that they knew that whatever happened between them the past week, whatever silent argument that had blossomed between them, it was going to be okay now.

"You didn't leave," Jin whispered in disbelief as she struggled to stand up. She clutched her chest a little and her back and the blood that caked her wrist dripped smeared unto Zuko's hand as he gripped her arm.

"Why would I?" Zuko simply said and when she could stand up again, he hugged her and silently hoped that she didn't see him break down.

He stepped back and saw that Jin had a look of satisfaction on her face mingled with a look of disbelief. She stared at him and a small smile played on her lips as she did so. She murmured in a tone that was in between the border of relief and shock, "You didn't leave."

* * *

Zuko loved Jin.

He wasn't exactly sure when he began to love Jin. Perhaps it was when he thought that she was dead and gone for good and a wave of emptiness filled him. At that moment he felt nothing but desperation and willingness to just lie down and die. Perhaps it was when she looked at him and kissed him and wrapped her arms around him, repeating again and again under her breath that he didn't leave. Perhaps it was when he watched Katara tend to her wounds (while letting out a barrage of scolding) and he realized that without her, he couldn't feel anything. That everything was devoid of life if she ever left.

Perhaps it was when he first lit up the Firelight Fountain for her. And he just did not realize it up until he really saw how horrible it was to see her get beaten and whipped, almost to death.

He loved her. And he wondered if she loved him back.

Sure, he knew that he liked her _a lot_. So much to the point where it hurt. But he had no idea if he loved her. Maybe it was because, he was young and wasn't aware between the differences of like, love and lust or maybe it was because he was so troubled and didn't have the time to think of things like that.

Was what he was feeling even love or just some sort of effect from teenage hormones? Zuko can't be too sure.

As he gently ran his hands through the blades of grass, Sokka joined him and squatted next to him. He said, "Katara's super mad."

"I know," Zuko shortly said.

After awhile Zuko added, "How is she?"

"Knocked out. Katara gave her some herbs to make her fall asleep because her water therapy thing hurt a lot more than she anticipated," Sokka said as he began to drum his fingers against his thighs.

The two of them continued to sit with the wind against their faces. Sokka began to babble on and on about how Katara was angry at him for encouraging Zuko and Jin's stealing spree and how Toph played a prank on him. He recounted the day's events—Aang nearly banged his head against a coral and Suki and him got into a huge fight because he insisted that the Water Tribe warriors were better than the Kyoshi warrior.

Then suddenly, Zuko blurted out, "Do you love Suki, Sokka?"

Sokka stared at him in surprise and in slight annoyance, irritated to be interrupted. But then he confidently said, "Yes. Of course I do."

"How can you be so sure?" Zuko asked skeptically. They were young. How was Sokka so sure that he loved Suki? That the feelings he felt now was something that was going to last into old age—not fade away when the tenor of youth has passed.

"I just know," Sokka simply said.

"Did you love her right away?" Zuko asked, very curious by now.

"No. I _liked_ her at first."

"Because you loved someone else."

"Yes," Sokka slowly said very confused at Zuko's sudden interest in this topic.

"Is there really a difference? Between love and like and lust and teenage hormones_?_" Zuko asked with his brow furrowed. He began to pluck a blade of grass from the ground and he toyed with it.

"Yeah. Of course there is," Sokka said as he shot Zuko a questioning look.

"But how can you tell one from the other?" Zuko demanded. He looked at Sokka with an extremely solemn expression on his face.

"I can't explain it Zuko. But when you love someone, you just _know_," Sokka said.

Zuko closed his eyes momentarily and thought and thought. He tried to understand himself, understand what he and Jin had, what he felt for Jin. He tried to assess his feelings, and as he did so he felt slightly jealous at Sokka. He was jealous at Sokka's assurance at his own feelings. How could he and Suki be so sure?

He saw Jin in Ba Sing Se in the Firelight Fountain, Jin in the underground Resistance headquarters, Jin in her Fire Nation outfit, Jin with her bright smile. He then saw it all vanish before him with one loud sound of the whip. He recalled the emptiness he felt, the hollow, vacant concave feelings that rose and spread inwardly and outwardly at the thought of Jin dying and being gone forever.

And he knew.

Zuko looked at Sokka and said, "Sokka, I love Jin."

"And you just realized that now?" Sokka snickered.

Zuko laughed and together they chuckled over in mirth. Yes, why did he just notice it now? He wondered, did Jin realize it early on, was she still unaware of it or like him, did she just understand it just now. He briefly considered telling her but Sokka then elbowed him.

Just as if he's read his mind, Sokka seriously said, "But you know…don't tell her just yet."

Zuko looked at her questioningly.

Sokka shrugged and said, "We're like teenagers. That's something you don't say to each other at our age. I mean, granted most girls would probably be over the moon about it—''

"But the war," Zuko finished for him firmly.

"Yeah…the war. We got the war to think about first," Sokka said grimly.

Zuko looked away from him and silently mulled it over.

* * *

When Jin woke up from her heavy sleep she discovered that her chest had a thick bandage wrapped around it, her back felt sore and raw, her wrist had a huge scab growing over it and her mind felt fuzzy and clouded. She sat up and only to be pushed back down from Katara who told her that she had three broken ribs and a huge and ugly, purple bruise on her chest and a big long gash at her back. Jin could hardly believe she got all that from just one whipping. Katara then sniffed and said in a tone of superiority, "You got it from several whippings, actually. I'd tell you 'I told you so' but of course, given your situation…"

Jin whose back and chest felt extremely sore, zoned out of Katara's nagging rant midway. Katara then continued to bark at her that she and Zuko had gotten themselves into a Wanted poster and that their reckless behavior had nearly cost them their safety. When she had finished reproving Jin, she took out a jug of water and set it in front of her. Seeing it, Jin paled. She knew all too well what that jug of water meant.

Water therapy.

It was very painful. The water which Katara bent to envelop her bruises and wounds felt as if they were penetrating deep into her skin.

Jin whimpered and cowered a little under her blankets and Katara, who was now feeling sympathetic, took some herbs and mixed them into a cup of hot water saying, "Here, drink this. This'll make you sleepy. The effects will probably take a little over an hour though before it hits."

Jin took the cup and drank it in one gulp. She set it down, looked at Katara and said pleadingly, "Please….can you just do it once I'm asleep."

Katara mulled it over and after much deliberation, she agreed. A barrage of people came to visit her before she was lulled into a deep sleep. Suki came by and told her about this new shop she saw in town. Toph came and yelled at her that she missed a day's worth of training. Aang brought her a couple of seashells and some peaches, wishing her better health. Sokka swung by and by then she was already starting to feel drowsy. Through her hazy vision and murky hearing, she heard him babbling about pranks played on him, and how Suki beat him in a game of Pai Sho. Finally his talk progressed into how Zuko was so worried about—

Jin sat upright. _Zuko!_ She had completely forgotten about him. Worry flooded her and nearly sent her into a state of frantic frenzy.

"Is he okay? Is he fine? Sokka? _Where is he_?" Jin nearly strangled him as she flung the questions out. Sokka hastily answered that he went out for a swim and that he would be come straight there once he found out that she was awake and functioning. Then he launched into a boring narration about sea urchins and Jin's previous sleepiness started to return.

She was almost to the point of passing out when Zuko finally arrived. He looked happy but very serious and withdrawn, his brows furrowed as if he was trying to analyze a particularly difficult problem. He squatted next to her and said as he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, "How's your back?"

He sounded extremely concerned and anxious. Jin wanted him to feel at ease.

Jin managed to mumble a groggy, "It's all right. You should've come earlier. Back when the sleeping tea Katara gave me still didn't unleash its full effects."

"I was busy thinking," Zuko said and his voice sounded nervous. Jin frowned.

When he sounded like that it usually led to an either awkward or heated conversation. She lied there silently, prodding him to continue. Zuko cleared his throat and said in an uneasy tone, "Have you ever thought about…you know…your future?"

Jin squinted her eyes, trying to assess what this statement could possibly mean. She struggled under the hazy sensation washing over and said honestly, "No."

"_No?"_

"I mean…I never thought about it. Mostly because there was never much to think about," Jin shrugged. She tried to keep her eyes from closing off.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jin felt extremely irritated by now. She was confused at where this conversation was heading. She grumpily said, "What I mean is that I never really thought about the future because it seems as if there was never any future for me to get into. In case you've forgotten we're living in a war here. I could die at any given moment."

"Stop talking like that," Zuko snapped sounding agitated.

"It's true. Why think about something when there's a possibility that you're not even going to have it?" Jin said. She was just as aggravated as him by now.

"I thought you are an optimist."

"I was. But now I'm a realist."

"Now you're the one sounding like Sokka," Zuko gently said in an attempt to make things lighter.

Jin scowled and snapped, the sleep syrup disorienting her thoughts and allowing her mouth to fire off like a loose cannon, "Maybe it's because he's right! We should all sound like Sokka!"

"Jin, you don't mean that—''

"Shut up. I'm a realist now," Jin grumbled and by then she decided to completely give up on the conversation because it was just too painful and she couldn't focus with the sleep syrup's effects taking a toll on her. Sleepiness wasn't the only thing she felt from the syrup. She felt hysteria and paranoia and a dangerous sense of inhibition.

"I thought you said that in every cloud there's always a silver lining—''

"Well I was stupid back then. Stupid and dumb and naïve. The only way to go is pessimism. You're always proven right or pleasantly surprised. We should all take a page from Sokka's book," Jin slurred as she buried her head into her pillow, just wishing that Zuko would stop talking. It was making her head ache.

"Look! All I'm saying is that…that maybe it's time _we _think about our future…"

Jin noticed that Zuko placed special emphasis on the "we". She now had a vague idea of what point he was trying to get across but her eyelids and brain refused to cooperate. She managed to mumble, "What do you mean?"

Zuko nervously tugged at his collar and began to babble as he stroked Jin's hair, "I mean…Aang's getting better at his Firebending now and maybe…maybe within the space of a few weeks, he'd be in full shape to take my dad on. He actually stands a good chance of winning…"

The full implications of what Zuko was talking about finally hit her. Jin closed her eyes and tried her best to pry them open and to fight off the effects of the sleep syrup. Try as she might, her attempts were futile. But she still managed to say sadly, "Zuko…Aang's just a kid."

And with that she voiced the fear of every single person in their little group had felt. Aang was just a kid. A kid who was too young to handle the task set ahead of him. A kid who had the capability to fail.

Zuko sounded angry by then. He spat, "But why are you thinking like this now? Of all times, why now? Now when we are so close to victory?"

"That's exactly why. It would a hundred times more painful if we lost despite the fact that we are this close to winning," Jin said as she tried to calm herself down.

"But haven't you ever thought about it?"

"Thought about what?"

"Having a family. Kids. _Marriage_," Zuko mumbled. The last word rolled off his tongue uneasily. Jin stiffened.

"Yes. Yes, I do. I do think about it. All the time," Jin said as she started to drift away. When she was a little girl, she always pictured herself to be one of those people who had children and a nice, big, happy family. Life wouldn't be complete, she believed, without marriage and kids. But as the war started to take its toll on her, she started to think otherwise.

Through her hazy vision Zuko beamed at her. Jin closed her eyes and said before she could force the words back inside, "But I'm not sure I want it."

Zuko's face immediately fell.

"But why?" He sputtered.

"Zuko, I lived my whole life in war. War family. War dad. War talks. War plans. War education. And I've seen all the damage war brings. Do I really want to have children and have them born into the world only to live a life of suffering?" Jin slurred as she slowly started to lose all consciousness.

"But it's all going to change. That's what Aang is here for. That's what his destiny is meant to do," Zuko said. He sounded pleading and his voice looked so hurt and dissapointed. She had basically just rejected him.

"_If_…Zuko. _If_ Aang succeeds_,"_ Jin mumbled before falling asleep.

* * *

It was funny how not so long ago, Zuko was a deranged prince, bent and obsessed in recapturing his glory and honor by bringing home the one thing the Fire Nation and his father so dearly craved for—the Avatar. Back then, he was brash and impulsive and most of his plans never fell through because it was done without so much as a thorough thought. The world was a dark, bleak ocean of sorrow and despair and everyday served only as a reminder of his shame, of his sentence of dishonor. Nothing was going to be right; nothing was going to be back to normal, not unless he caught the Avatar. The world was no longer a place that filled him with hope—life itself was a manifestation of futile failure.

It was funny how not so long ago, Jin was a bright and cheerful, happy-go-lucky peasant who lived in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. Back then, it did not matter that she lost her father and her home and her mother—she still had her youth, she still had her brothers and she still had her life. The world was a luminescent, clear ocean of beauty and hope and everyday served only as a reminder of her luck, of the blessing of a second chance she and her brothers managed to scrape by after the attack. Everything was right, everything was normal and Jin felt that despite her feeling as if she was lacking a certain something, everything was perfect. The world was a place the filled Jin with hope—life itself was a manifestation of possibilities and promises.

It was funny how in a short span of a few months, Jin was the one who now believed in the stupidity and irrationality of life while Zuko believed in the possibility of new beginnings that life possesses. Jin was wallowing somewhere in the middle of doubt and disappointment—she was now determined not to piece for herself a ridiculous, disillusioned future where everything turned out okay. This time, she was going to condition herself to be prepared for the possibility that things are going to end horribly. Zuko on the other hand was wallowing somewhere in the middle of his hope, anticipation and the prospect of seeing his newly found goals (which mostly concerned Jin) reach fruition.

It was funny how the trickling of time could change a person so drastically.

* * *

"Look at them. They should just go get a room," Zuko sneered in distaste as he and Jin watched a couple, making out in the sand. The two of them were seated on a little precipice jutting out from a gravelly sand bar. Zuko had his arm around Jin and Jin was leaning against his shoulders.

Jin snickered, remembering the cave incident and she said, "Ha! You're one to talk."

"At least we had the decency to do it where no one could see us," Zuko sniffed. The Cave incident was still awkward at best but it was already bearable enough for them to have a decent conversation about it without arousing humiliation and discomfort.

Jin laughed and said and so did Zuko. After a few minutes of silence, Zuko muttered, "They look so happy together though."

"Mmm-hmm…."

"I bet they're married…"

Jin sat up, a little surprised at his sudden comment. She had just recovered from all her bruises and gashes and she was still trying to wrap herself around the idea that she and Zuko had just had nonsensical thoughts about the future and marriage and…oh Spirits!..._children_.

She felt that it was a little unusual and odd that they are even thinking about this. They were young and as far she was concerned, that was the least of their problems. They still had to stop the Fire Nation from burning everything down to the ground, bust up his crazy sister and stop his evil dad. How could Zuko possibly think about something like that at a time such as this? But still, Jin noticed that what she perceived to be a harmless conversation was now something that Zuko thought about with great seriousness. He would often slip little comments about it or at least try to bait Jin to talk about it.

It worried her a little though she didn't bother to tell him.

He wanted to have something like that in the future and well, maybe she did too. She just didn't want it now—not when the war was still going on. She felt a little guilty for ruining his new happy and enthusiastic mood. Everything had been going on so smoothly between them. He was helping the Avatar with the war. They would win. They'd have a nice, bright and peaceful future ahead of them. He was obviously a little annoyed and sad that she had burst his bubble by telling him that Aang might fail and that things would not work out as well as he wanted it to be.

She was going to let him indulge in feeling thoughts such as those, just to keep him at bay and happy.

She didn't want to talk about it however.

Trying to change the subject Jin murmured, "What's your favorite color?"

She expected him to say gold or red or sunset orange. Instead he said without hesitation, "Green."

"Green?"

Jin stared at him in surprise, her big hazel-green eyes expanding. Zuko stared down at it and said quietly, "It used to be gold or maybe a nice yellow. They reminded me of summer. Summers used to be the best times in my life."

Zuko closed his eyes and recalled his last few summers before his banishment—they were spent in infinite hours of play, of running in the beach, of eating ice cream. He didn't have to worry about school or trying to outshine or keep up with Azula. Everything was just right and perfect.

"Why? What happened? I thought you hated green," Jin remarked, feeling a little curious. It was true that he hated green. Zuko once told her that he absolutely despised it because it reminded him of his miserable time wandering around the Earth kingdom in shame, poverty and exile.

But green was also the color of Ba Sing Se, the place where he first met Jin. Green was the color of summer grass, the color of crisp, green leaves that marked the beauty of his favorite season. Green was the color of Jin's dress, not the loose and slightly frayed robe she wore in their first date. Green was the color of peace.

No, he didn't want the golden, angry hues that licked the flames of destruction and death that marked most of his life. He had too much of that already. He wanted green, the color of the city where the girl he loves used to live, the color of the summer grass, the color of a simple dress worn on a first date, the color of rebirth and hope—of the promise that it would all be good again.

Zuko shrugged, kissed her eyelids and simply said, "Green is the color of your eyes."

* * *

Jin ducked and narrowly avoided a very dangerous mud-whip from Toph. She arched her back, backwards and did a flip as Toph pressed on her even harder. The day of the comet was coming and Toph was training her with much more rigor and severity. She wanted Jin to master a particular drill to perfection and she wasn't accepting any excuses. Jin sent an earth wall and spun around, attempting to at least flee at a farther distance but as she twisted her heel, a mud-whip snaked around her ankle and pulled her into the mud.

Instead of feeling a sense of disgust, wave of smells enter her nose. She smelled a warm hearth, dry-clay walls and the good strong, musky scent of wood. A series of images filled her mind—a big but modest house, a nice stately gate, a large, ornate door, the ruddy glow of fire underneath a warm pot of soup and a nice round, wooden table with a tall, elegant and cheerful woman at one side, two lanky and mischievous looking boys at the center, a large, lumbering man at one end and small, tiny, messy, little girl at his side.

"Hey Smiley? Get up! What's with the stupid smile on your face? Got enough of dung smell?" Toph hollered at her as she tried to resume her training with Jin.

Jin merely smiled wistfully and said in a sad voice, "Just the smell of home."

* * *

"Now you count one-two before you pull your arm back and you put your other arm into the water…" Zuko instructed as Jin coughed out some seawater. They were having another swimming lesson and this time Zuko was trying to see if she could swim in the open sea, where the tide was high and the waters were particularly rough. He was currently regretting that he even bothered to let her swim there. Jin was having a very miserable time. She kept going under, she moved clumsily and she lacked the refined finesse a swimmer possessed.

Zuko was trying to take his mind off a couple of things. He was having an unusually horrible day—Toph chose that untimely moment to pull a prank on him, Katara got mad at him yet again for accidentally spilling her soup, Aang wasn't focused on his training and he flopped three drills, Sokka had eaten his rooster-pig sandwich and most of all Jin was avoiding any discussion about their future. He knew that he probably shouldn't be pushing it. They were still teenagers after all.

But they were growing up and with the whole war thing; they could die at any given moment. Why not talk about it? Why not figure it out? He was always aware that fatherhood was in his future, back when he was younger, mostly because he was the heir of the Fire Nation and as a result, everyone expected him to produce…well, another heir. The woman he was going to marry however was always still in question and Zuko was fully aware that whoever he was going to marry was going to be a result of an arranged marriage.

Things of course, didn't work quite like he expected.

He's not the heir apparent anymore. No more arranged marriages would be thrown on his way. He was a fallen prince, disgraced and shamed. And he wasn't sure if the only girl he could ever love loved him back.

She certainly wasn't showing any indication that she reciprocated his feelings. Sure, he knew that she really cared for him and she really liked him but did she love him back? He wasn't so sure. She seemed genuinely repulsed by the idea of marriage. He wasn't sure why she felt that way. It seemed like the most obvious next step in their relationship.

He tried his best to ignore the little voice murmuring at the back of his head that Jin never truly loved him back, because if she did, she wouldn't be so afraid of getting married and having kids. Zuko was afraid that Jin merely thought of this relationship as something temporary.

He tried to pry that horrible thought out of his mind as Jin wrinkled her brow in concentration making her look so adorable and cute.

Jin nodded at him and readied herself to give the stroke another try when a wave crashed against her midway, forcing her backwards and underwater. Zuko quickly grabbed her elbow and with his strong arm, he hoisted her back up and kept her afloat by wrapping his hands around her waist. She didn't look too pleased. Her hair was damp and wet and it fell in a choppy curtain around her face. Her nose and cheeks were red, from the midday sun. She was sniffling and she kept sputtering water out from her mouth. She shook and shivered in Zuko's grasp.

"I quit," she exhaled as the tide crashed into them before promptly pulling them back. Jin held unto Zuko's shoulders in panic.

"Just one more try," Zuko urged her.

"I'm a horrible swimmer," Jin choked.

"That's what you get for living in a boring landlocked city for most of your life," Zuko teased.

"Zuko can we go now? P_lease_," Jin pleaded as she tried to keep herself from sounding like whimpering and scared puppy. This was an admission that Zuko had, somehow, won. It irritated her beyond belief but she was willing to admit being the loser as long as she was back on dry land.

"Okay! I'll go" Zuko slyly said before letting go of Jin, leaving her to face the violent waters alone. Another wave rolled in and it hit Jin square across the face, sending her spiraling backwards. She frantically flapped her arms in an attempt to keep herself afloat. Once the waters had calmed down she glared at Zuko furiously.

"Zuko! Take me back to shore!" Jin raged.

"If you wanna go back so badly then why don't you swim?" Zuko said in between fits of giggles.

Jin wrinkled her nose, sniffled and said in desperation, "I would if it weren't for this stupid, bipolar tide!"

Zuko laughed and swam towards her, gently encircling his arms around her waist. He pressed his forehead against hers and said in teasingly, "There's a poem about this once."

"What poem?" Jin grumpily muttered, despite the fact that Zuko had just kissed her forehead. She was obviously still annoyed.

"There's a poem about the tides," Zuko chuckled as Jin continued to look annoyed.

Jin huffed and said, "You can tell it to me once we're back at the shore."

She sputtered once again as she accidentally swallowed water. Zuko closed his eyes, ignored her and murmured against her forehead,

"The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveler hastens toward the town."

Jin froze. She had heard this poem before. Zuko began to draw small patterns on her shoulder as he continued on, his voice low and sad, as if he was reminiscing a particularly melancholic memory. She pressed her head against his chest and listened as the rhythmic beating of his heart coincided with his wistful voice:

"And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands

Efface the footprints in the sands."

Her mother used to say this out loud. Sing it into a song even. Jin never really understood the meaning of this poem. She just knew that it held such a sad and poignant feel. As the words grew clearer in her head, she started to comprehend that it involved a traveler, who walked by the seashore every day. One day, the traveler did not return but the tides merely continued to rise and fall completely apathetic and unaware of the traveler's passing. It did not matter. Life would go on. The tides would go on.

When her mother died, all that was left of the poem was the painful memory and reminder of her death. When she heard Zuko say it out loud she could barely stop herself from conjuring up the image of her mother walking along the sand looking bright and happy with the tides lapping at her feet. And just like the traveler in the poem, her mother was gone—ceased to exist. But the tides merely continued to go up and down, never even realizing that a person had just died.

She hated the tides for that.

Suddenly, the thought that Zuko could die and things in world would go in a perfectly fine manner made her feel so emotional all of the sudden. Tears started to leak from her eyes.

Zuko didn't notice because the two of them were so wet from the seawater. He continued in his cheerless recitation:

"And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls—''

Jin made a small whimper from at the back of her throat and she finished for him:

"The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveler to the shore.

And the tide rises, the tide falls."

The two of them stayed there, with the despairing silence hanging above them. Jin pressed herself closer against Zuko and suddenly the thought of losing him forever made her chest constrict. It never occurred to her how much she truly cared for him and how much she loved him. She had always loved him. Maybe she loved him even before he loved her. A horrible thought suddenly overcame Jin. What if he didn't feel the same way? She looked up at Zuko a little fearfully and saw that he was busy thinking something over.

Then to Jin's surprise, he leaned over to her and kissed her on the lips, murmuring as he parted, "I love you."

Jin froze and before she could respond, Zuko spun around and swam off, back to the shore, leaving her at the ocean's mercy.

She would probably kill him for just leaving her like that, especially since she couldn't swim as well. And perhaps she'll kill him even more for saying that to her. But things are changing. The tides are more violent than ever. In just one more week, they would confront the Fire Lord. He would take on his biggest adversary—his sister. Aang would have to fight his father. Aang held everyone's fate—Katara, Sokka, Suki, him, Jin's—in his hands. He could either condemn them all to a life of misery by failing or he could save them all by defeating his father.

Somehow, he knew what Jin's answer would be. But he didn't want to hear it yet. He didn't want to hear that Jin loved him. Not while everything hung in the balance.

Zuko would wait.

He would wait because there might be chance that the scales of luck would finally tip over to his favor. And when they do so, that's when he would want to hear Jin saying that she loves him too.

* * *

Jin would've told him that she loved him back. She tried to tell him many times, after he told her. But for some reason, Zuko didn't want her to. She didn't fully comprehend it, but she understood that there would be a right time for her to say it.

It reminded her of a story, of a soldier who refused to kiss his love, who refused to caress her or touch her or say "I love you" until he has brought peace to the land. He wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted their love to be perfect—not marred by the brutality and carnage of war. If she remembered correctly, the soldier died without seeing his wish come true and he never felt the warm lips of his lover pressing against his, or her broken voice screaming "I love you." He died, broken and wrecked, doomed to never hear his "I love you", feel the kiss of his love and see the light of day dawn on peace.

She thought that it was wrong that Zuko wasn't making her say it. You can never guess what would happen. But then again, she was making him wait with the discussion of their future and marriage. If he could understand that, then she must understand him too. One day she'll tell it to him. Now just wasn't the time.

He was waiting for it.

And she would wait too.

* * *

"We used to have hearths back at home," Jin said as she and Zuko sat in the living room. Jin was trying to make a seashell necklace but seeing as she was very incompetent when it came to domestic activities such as weaving and string-tying, her necklace came off lopsided and clumsily made. Zuko sat next to her, with his back pressed against hers, so that they were facing opposite from each other. He was examining another Firebending scroll with concentration, trying to figure out how he was supposed to get Aang interested in it enough to take it seriously. Lately, it seemed as if the Avatar flew by their training sessions with utter ease—it was as if he didn't care anymore.

But Zuko would put a stop to that. Aang had to take this seriously. For him, for Jin, for everyone's future.

"Mmm-hmm," Zuko muttered distractedly. He quickly turned the scroll over.

"I miss the hearths. Back at home, not Ba Sing Se, my first home I mean, my mother would build a hearth and together we'd sit around it and drink apple cider and laugh and share songs and stories. It'd be more special if my dad came home from the war front," Jin said wistfully as a translucent piece of shell slid off the string.

"We don't have hearths here. It's hot enough," Zuko muttered absentmindedly. It was true. The Fire Nation weather, even the evenings were excruciatingly hot. A big hearth was something they hardly needed in their homes in the evening.

"I feel homesick," Jin said quietly.

Zuko paused, inched his face towards her and murmured in a tone that was just as quiet, "I've been feeling homesick for three years."

Jin frowned and remembered that Zuko was a banished prince, cursed to exile in an aimless search for the Avatar. She took his hand and said, her voice filled with regret for even mentioning it, "I'm sorry."

Zuko however, did not want to be the receiving end of a pity party. He was too proud for that. He quickly shrugged her hand off and said brightly as an idea came to him, "I know! Why don't we build a hearth?"

"What?" Jin giggled disbelievingly. She turned around and faced him and her smile grew wider when she saw how excited he looked.

"Yeah, I'm serious! Let's build a hearth!" he said as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her excitedly.

"But Zuko…where are we supposed to do that? Everything here is made out of wood! You'd burn the entire house down," Jin snickered.

"Not the courtyard. It's built out of limestone—''

"That would be a bonfire, not a hearth—''

"What does it matter anyway? We'll find a nice, snug corner. I'll steal some of Katara's apple juice. And I have tons of songs and stories to share!" Zuko said, half in a mocking self-effacing manner and half in utter seriousness and gravity. He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"O-okay—''

Zuko hurriedly shuffled off outside and Jin had to run to keep up with him.

"We need some wood or coal," Jin told him as soon as they were outside.

"There's some by the beach," Zuko quickly muttered back.

The two of them spent most of the night gathering driftwood and trying to make it dry enough to become adequately functional firewood. Zuko managed to find some coals lodged somewhere in the house and together they found a nice, quiet corner in the courtyard. Zuko began to pile the coal and the firewood up together. He was about to firebend towards it, just to get the fire starting, but Jin quickly slapped his hand away, claiming that she wanted to start it by herself. She managed to spark a weak flame and Zuko secretly fed it so it managed to spread into a full-blown fire. After grabbing some of Katara's juice, he pulled Jin and together they leaned against the pillar and watched their makeshift little hearth.

Zuko and Jin exchanged stories. Zuko told her about how his uncle once tried to steal some of his grandfather's tea. Jin told him that He Shen once got dragged around their house by a rooster-pig. Zuko sang her the Fire Nation hymn, seeing as it was the only song he knew. Jin sang a boisterous song about a couple of farmers trying to fight over a girl.

"What stories do you think we'll tell each other in the future when we sit by the hearth again? A real hearth this time," Jin asked him as she leaned against him.

"We'll tell each other about the day we met," Zuko said quickly.

"You mean the day where you left me alone, a poor defenseless girl, in the middle of the night?" Jin teasingly said.

"The day we first met and _liked_ each other. And by the way, you were never defenseless to begin with," Zuko sniffed proudly.

"Oh so you did like me back then? Funny, I was under the impression that you didn't," Jin snickered.

"Or we could tell each other about how I found out that you are a horrible cook," Zuko retaliated.

"Or maybe we could tell each other how I found out that you're a horrible date," Jin smirked.

"Or maybe we could tell each other how you could eat twice as much as me—and with horrible table manners too," Zuko shot.

"Or maybe we could tell each other how you could not dance to save your life," Jin smiled.

Zuko tried to look mad, though with the smile that was tugging at the corner of his mouth; he knew he was failing miserably. He said, "Or maybe we could tell each other how you are such a horrible swimmer."

Jin paused, as he mulled over what she was going to say next. Then her face melted into a look solemnity and she said gravely, "Or maybe—hopefully—we could tell each other how Aang defeated the Fire Lord and how we found peace and happiness together after he won."

Zuko pulled her closer, and for some sudden irrational reason, he was suddenly afraid—afraid that he and Jin might not get the chance to tell that to each other.

* * *

"Zuko…I need your help," Jin nervously said as she pulled him aside one day from his training with Aang. Zuko looked at her incredulously as he paused from scrupulously looking over Aang's performance of the drill before dismissing him. He stared at his girlfriend as she hemmed and hawed in front of him in an attempt to say something out loud.

Zuko raised a brow at her.

"What?" he asked, trying not to sound too annoyed. He was trying to prepare Aang for his confrontation with the Fire Lord. He was really busy. He didn't really need any distractions right now.

"I know your busy—''

"Good. Y_ou_ actually know," Zuko said trying to keep himself from sounding irritated.

Jin frowned at him but continued on nonetheless, "Sokka and I had an argument today."

"About what?" Zuko asked, sounding a little curious. Jin and Sokka bickered constantly, almost as much as he and Jin, and it usually took a long time before any of their arguments were resolved. Mostly, it involved full-blown contests and huge stand-offs.

"Well he told me that I couldn't cook," Jin began.

"But you really can't cook," Zuko frowned, failing to see how their argument started.

"Don't you think I know that?" Jin impatiently snapped.

"Then what—''

"I challenged Sokka to a cooking contest!" Jin blurted out.

Zuko tried to hide his fit of giggles that threatened to spill over as soon as he heard the news. Jin placed her hands on her hips and shot him a dirty look. The thought of Jin actually winning a cooking contest was beyond preposterous. Zuko loved everything about Jin and he thought that she was absolutely perfect but the sad truth was that she was the most horrible cook he had ever come across. She either overcooked or undercooked her food. Everything was either too seasoned or bland. It was always in the range of extremities with her. There was no middle ground.

"You didn't," Zuko said as he tried to hold his laughter down.

"He was being particularly insulting! I just_ had_ to!'" Jin said as she stamped her foot.

Zuko snickered, "And why did you ask me?"

"We're allowed to ask help from one person. Sokka already asked Katara so I thought I'd—''

"You're a goner!" Zuko burst out in laughter as soon as he heard the word "Katara". Katara was their best cook. She could make anything—even dirt—excruciatingly delicious. Jin was crazy if she ever thought that she could stand a chance with Katara.

"—so I thought I'd ask you as my one person," Jin finished in annoyance.

"Jin! I know that compared to you…I'm a _better _cook but honestly! It's_ Katara_ we're talking about here!" Zuko said, his words muffled and distorted by his laughter.

"You didn't let me finish," Jin said sullenly.

"D-do continue," Zuko howled, his syllables distorted because of his giggles.

"Toph, Aang and Suki are the judges," Jin slowly said.

"And you're point is?" Zuko snickered.

"Except for Aang they're total meat lovers. If I'm right, Katara and Sokka would probably try and prepare the dish they know best. And that would be…" Jin gestured at him, prompting him to continue.

Zuko stopped doubling over with laughter and said in realization, _"Seafood."_

Jin was very familiar with the Water Tribe taste palette from the numerous meals Katara prepared. She continued, "Cold, slimy, uncooked seafood—''

"I see what you're getting at here. But won't the scales tip in Sokka's favor? Suki is his girlfriend," Zuko informed her.

"But it would be a blind testing," Jin said desperately.

Zuko stared at Jin as he tried to compose himself and suddenly he saw this not as a stupid argument between Jin and Sokka, but an all-out war and a good way to test his ability at being a good strategist. He smirked at her and she smiled back at him and said with an impish grin, "Ready to take some Water Tribe butt down?"

Zuko pulled her closer and breathed on, "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking a perfect Fire Nation stew," Jin said after some thought.

Zuko was beyond excited by the whole idea. He wasn't of course a better cook than Katara, and his and Jin's chances of winning were very slim. But the idea of taking a break from the stress-filled week he had spent with all the training for Aang and his obsession with making plans for taking down his father seemed wonderful. Also, he thought that it would be hilarious for Jin to attempt to try and be domestic. He of course, knew that there was no use trying to teach her how to cook. She was _that_ horrible in the kitchen. But it would probably be very entertaining for him to see her trying to cook something palatable.

The two of them hurried to the other kitchen, at the far end of the house since Sokka already claimed the other kitchen. Zuko began to take the pots and pans out and he dusted the grime off. Jin unwrapped the meat cutlets and the vegetables. After a few minutes of preparation they started off to work. Zuko told Jin the recipe and helped her make the stew along the way, carefully trying to guide her in the right direction.

Zuko could not find it in his heart to tell Jin that she was doing every single thing _wrong._ Despite his watchful eye and careful instruction, she cut the meat wrong, put too much cornstarch in the sauce and added very little salt to the stew. Zuko also found out, from the blood leaking off the meat, as the beef stew boiled, that she didn't fry it properly. The whole think looked too overcooked and the pieces of carrots and beef were starting to look like clumps of coal. Things of course, were not going as spectacularly and he knew that Jin's chances at winning were close to zero by now. Whatever slimy concoction Sokka and Katara had prepared would easily trump their beef stew.

Jin watched over his shoulder as he sampled her stew.

"What do you think?" she asked him enthusiastically.

Zuko blanched and tried to hide the disgust from his voice. He said, "A perfect Fire Nation stew."

"Perfect enough to win?" Jin asked hopefully.

Zuko briefly wondered if he should lie to her and say no. But then he knew that she would be so dissapointed, especially since it meant losing to Sokka and her pride would always refuse to allow that. So he said yes and tried to ignore that sinking feeling he got as she happily shuttled off, excited at the prospect of beating Sokka. He had to do something. But what could he do? Jin's stew was beyond any point of salvation now.

He decided that the only way to remedy this was to sabotage the other camp's dish. It was an old Fire Nation tactic. If things weren't working out in their side, than they'd drag the other side into their misfortune.

Zuko contemplated seriously on what he should do and he decided that maybe he would sneak over to their kitchen and dump some chili paste and bitter gourd into whatever they had cooking. The plan seemed perfect in his head but of course, like most plans he had, it never fell through. Katara caught him almost immediately and Sokka spent half-an-hour declaring foul and citing reasons why he should've won. Of course they had a minor altercation and when Jin was called into the scene things were beyond ugly by then. She had to forcefully pry Zuko away from Sokka to keep him from exploding.

Finally, the jury had decided that since Zuko was caught in the act of cheating, Sokka of course deserved to be the winner. He exercised his rights to brag fully and spent two hours stating the merits of his win. As soon as the entire scuffle was all over, Jin glumly sat on the stone steps of Zuko's huge house and said sadly, "You thought it was horrible."

"No!" Zuko defensively said.

"If you didn't, why did you have to ruin Katara and Sokka's meal?" Jin pouted.

"Because…because…well—''

"You lied," Jin said, though her face didn't look as sad.

"I didn't lie," Zuko said as he sat down next to her.

He said honestly, "I thought your stew was perfect."

He meant every word of it. Her cooking was horrible but he'd still eat it. She could do no wrong as far as he was concerned. She was perfect.

Jin scoffed.

Zuko said in a sincere and slightly joking tone after awhile as he leaned in to kiss her nose, "I think _you're _perfect."

Jin avoided his kiss, gave him a small, playful punch and pretended to look mad though her lips were spread into a wide smile. She snapped, "Shut up! You just cost me the competition!"

Zuko managed to give her a peck on the cheek before scrambling off, yelling as he did so, "You would've lost the competition anyway with that stew of yours!"

* * *

_5 Days until the Comet_

Zuko was feeling nervous. It was five days, less than a week before the comet. Before Aang's big confrontation. And Aang couldn't care less. He was busy having fun in the beach, being carefree and oh-so frolicsome. It sickened Zuko—he knew that Aang was just a kid and all but he was also a kid who held everyone's future in his hands. Perhaps, he could at least try to be serious about it.

Everyone but him and Jin feel at ease. They were all proceeding with things normally, without any urgency. It was as if the comet wasn't even coming at all. Jin spent most of her time training while Zuko lost himself over with trying to get Aang in shape. Evenings were spent apart. They no longer ate dinner together. Jin went to dinner late because it would take her a long time before she could master it and she never stopped until she did. Zuko rarely ate dinner with everyone else because of his frustration with Aang. He spent the evenings poring over new Firebending scrolls, over new military tactics they could use during their attack.

The time they spent apart from each other hardly mattered anymore.

When Aang won, it would be all worth it because by then, they would have all the time in the world to spend with each other.

_4 Days Until the Comet_

Jin began to have a steady stream of nightmares. It mostly involved horrible, potential scenarios in which Aang would fail and they would all be imprisoned and condemned. The possibility wasn't so far-fetched by then. Aang seemed to have completely clocked out on his training. He spent most of his time in beach parties and having fun and being carefree. Jin began to feel worried.

Zuko was very busy so she could barely talk to him about it. Her anxiety was rising at a dangerous level of paralysis and acrimony. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something horrible was doomed to happen to them. To try to calm herself down, she would often sit by the seashore and earthbend sandcastles—sandcastles of Ba Sing Se, of the Fire Nation Capitol, of her home, of Zuko's home—sometimes to the point of obsession. The anticipation of what the outcome of what their battle against the Fire Nation would be, slowly ate her up from the inside.

Would they win? Would they lose? As each thought passed through her mind, the sandcastle would crumble and she would earthbend a newer, better version.

Zuko took out his frustration in the only way he knew how—venting it out through his firebending. He raged and roared as he sent shoots of fire from his hands, angry at everything. The world, the war. His father. Aang. Stupid Aang who thought this was all a game. Stupid Aang and all his friends who didn't care. He knew that he shouldn't be angry because there is only so much he could expect from Aang. He was only twelve years old.

A mere child.

He and Jin release their anxiety and anger and worry apart but after a couple of nights they found each other, in the empty shores of the beach. Jin was obsessively making another sandcastle while Zuko was performing another drill.

"How's training?" Jin asked him absentmindedly as her sandcastle crumbled to the ground again.

"Stupid. Useless. Pointless. Aang abandoned it in favor for a barbeque," Zuko muttered as he made an arc out of fire.

Jin's hands tightened in a ball as she earthbent another sandcastle—this time it was one of the Fire Nation Capitol, a place where they were about attack soon. Jin's hands trembled in nervousness at the thought of their upcoming battle.

"Zuko…do you think Aang would win?" she asked him, very quietly.

Zuko closed his eyes and despite all the doubts he has been harboring in his head, he said after a few moments, in a confident tone, "Yes. Yes, he'll win. I'm sure of it."

Jin looked up at him and said in a voice that possessed as much conviction and certainty, "I'm sure of it too."

_3 Days Until the Comet_

The nightmares were unbearable. They were always filled with shadows and darkness and confusion. Mostly they were filled with death—its sickly stench loomed over incessantly, crooning and preening of her destiny to die young. It was irrational of course but not impossible. Many people, throughout the course of the war, have died in the prime of their youth. Some have died at an even younger age. Death was always omnipresent and with their upcoming attack, his aura seemed to emanate more and more.

Jin couldn't sleep. She couldn't sleep because she was so nervous and anxious. She couldn't sleep because she felt alone.

Jin spent most of her nights aimlessly wandering around the shores of the beach, creating sandcastles, destroying them, putting them back together, and taking them apart. She let the water lap against her feet, allowed the sand to rub against her toes as she walked in silence, dreading in anticipation of what was to come in a matter of a few more days.

She could lose or gain everything with the battle of the comet. The thought that everything hung in delicate balance, that the scales would tip at the slightest movement made her feel sick. Sometimes, she would sit on a rock and just stare at the ocean, watching the waves as it lulled her into sleep.

It could never make her fall asleep.

But the win and the water were very comforting. Most of the time, in her state of insomnia, she would feel very alone. She knew that it was perfectly normal. Everyone felt alone at one point in their lives. She felt as if there was nothing left for her and that there was no point in moving forward because perhaps in her future, there would really be nothing but an empty canvass for hopelessness and despair. But then she would remind herself that she still had Zuko and her brothers and her friends and that she was just being irrational and stupid. This was all brought on by a classic case of anxiety.

One night, she met Zuko across the shores. He was looking so angry and frustrated. Together they sat down and she said quietly, "Three more days…."

"I know," Zuko mumbled.

"Can't sleep?" Jin asked him. He shifted his position, so he was sitting next to her. Jin leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I dream about you sometimes," Zuko whispered suddenly.

Jin didn't answer him.

"I dream of you disappearing, of just leaving, of being gone without a trace. Like my mother," Zuko quietly said as he stroked her hair.

Jin frowned and said, "I dream about losing. About losing my brothers and my father and you. Zuko, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I'm afraid too," Zuko said hoarsely.

"What if…what if this doesn't work out? Where would we go? What would happen to all of us?" Jin said wistfully as she looked at the horizon.

Zuko didn't bother sugarcoating the facts. He said sullenly, "If I know my father, we'd be dead."

The tone of certainty in his voice scared Jin. She burrowed deeper into his chest and said, "Everyone says that they're ready to die for the greater good."

Zuko said, "No. Not everyone says that. I don't say that."

Jin sighed and said in a groggy voice, "I don't want to die Zuko. I'm scared."

For the first time in days, she was falling into the recesses of slumber. Zuko stroked her hair.

Zuko shrugged and said quietly, "I don't want to die, either."

Jin closed her eyes and fell asleep, completely impervious to whatever Zuko was saying. He then added, "But if my father wins, I doubt we'll really have the luxury of having a choice."

_2 Days Until the Comet_

"I yelled at him today," Zuko grumbled as they sat by the seashore, allowing the waves to lap against their feet.

Jin didn't look at him. She was perfectly aware of the argument Zuko and Aang had that morning. Zuko had yelled at Aang for being so irresponsible and for not taking things seriously enough. Aang yelled at Zuko for taking things too seriously and for obsessing over it. The two of them got into a huge fight and by the end of the day; Zuko was considered the bad guy. He stormed off into the seashore where he proceeded to throw pebbles into the ocean with anger and frustration. Jin followed him and sat next to him as he continued to rage and fume in his wrath and fury.

"Zuko, take it easy on him," Jin murmured as she stared at the ocean. It was sunset and the sky was melting into soft pink and hazy violet.

"He's been taking it easy for days!" Zuko spat.

"This is probably all too much for him. Imagine having the whole world on your shoulders," Jin said.

Zuko ignored her and continued to throw rocks into the water.

Jin tugged at his hand. He looked at her and she said softly, "Zuko, he's just a kid."

He pulled his hand away from her and snapped, "Yeah, well I'm just a teenager."

Zuko looked away from her and said, "He's got no excuse. Every one of us is young and screwed."

_1 Day Until the Comet_

They had each other and that was what really mattered. The clock was ticking, the hour was passing and soon, they would all be ready to face their destinies. Jin held Zuko's hand and looked up at him and she wondered briefly, how it would've been like if she had met him in a world of peace, a world where no war had ever started.

"Do you ever wonder?" she mused.

"About what?"

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if the war had never started?" Jin said as leaned on his shoulder.

"I can't imagine it. Nor would I ever want it," Zuko seriously said as he strapped his sword on.

"Why?" Jin frowned.

Zuko shrugged and said, "If it weren't for the war, I would have never met you."

He leaned over to kiss her and though the thought sickened her, she couldn't imagine or want a world where the war had never started either.

* * *

_This chapter is dull and boring, I know, so I'm not really expecting much of a reaction from you guys. As the title suggest, it's more of a filler chapter actually. Each division are actually oneshots (sort-of) and they don't really have a particular order—they're sort-of nonlinear, random but hopefully not unwanted._

_In this chapter, I wanted to explore a bit more about Zuko and Jin's relationship. In one part they make out. Since they're both teenagers, I really wanted to explore their sexuality without pushing it a bit too far because well…I did rate this as K+ fic. Perhaps, I'll change the rating but I don't think that anything too kinky happened. Zuko and Jin just realized the other aspect of any regular teenage relationship: hormones and sexual exploration._

_Second would be the portion where Zuko realizes he loves Jin and vice-versa. Yes, I am aware that Jin once said in a chapter that she fell for Zuko, but it was kind of just an impulse reaction of what any regular teenager would say when she/he is in a relationship. The love I'm talking about here is not the regular teenaged, young love but the kind of the real thing. If you've noticed in previous chapters, it's always been "I like you" or "I care about you". I wanted to be realistic. True, love happens instantly for most people but for me, I think the development of Zuko and Jin's relationship with each other was gradual. It was not something that was instant. I wanted to explore the idea of them waking up and realizing that not only do they like and care for each other, like most teenagers do, but they also, truly, truly love each other. _

_Third, would be the talk on marriages and their future and the fear that accompanied it. Maybe many people would feel that it is too out-of-place or unnecessary or too contrived or too fast but I felt that it was right for the story. I was actually inspired after we had to do paper on History class about World war Veterans. My grandfather, survived World War II and I was actually very fascinated with all the emotions he felt when it happened. He was only fifteen years old at that time. He and his childhood sweetheart began to talk about the future and the fear of what might happen if they did not have a future at all. Granted, I realized that marriage and the like would probably be the next step for Zuko and Jin and with the war's conclusion coming closer, naturally, it would force them to actually talk about it. Jin and Zuko are maturing and growing up and in a time of war, this something that most adolescent actually commonly discuss. _

_Jin's reaction seemed natural to me as well. She's afraid of getting her hopes up because things might not work out as well as she wanted them to and she's trying to let Zuko understand that side of the whole issue.  
_

_The feelings of fear, horror and desperation Zuko and Jin felt were actually inspired by my grandfather's tale. Being an adolescent at the time of conflict, it is natural to feel these emotions and I doubt that since Zuko and Jin, Zuko most especially, were in a far worst situation than my grandfather, and then they would probably experience it to a more heightened degree._

_Lots of fluffiness and randomness dominate this chapter and nothing remotely important for the story happens so if you're not into fillers, then you don't have to read this. It probably wouldn't affect the plotline as much._

_Sorry for the late update (again.) _

_Thanks to: nature is the future, jrba95, Shakeru, tgbwe, Kaeso Corvinus, Panther-Strife, ArrayePL, Suki17, divinedemon1 for the reviews! I really appreciate it you guys._

_Much thanks to those who added this story to their favorites, who story-alerted this and who added me as their favorite author. _

_P.S: The poem about the tides is written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Not a single word belongs to me.  
_

_If you have read this don't be afraid to tell me what you think. _

_Review._

_Please._

_Always._


	26. Part XXIV

**Burning Bright**

_Part XXIV_

"Gather around Team Avatar!" Sokka declared and Jin nervously paced towards him as everyone drew nearer. Today, after another huge and violent fight with each other, Aang and Zuko had made up with whatever arguments and misconceptions and disagreements they had with each other after Zuko had just told Aang and by extension, everyone, of his father's plan to burn Ba Sing Se and the whole world down. The thought of Ba Sing Se, the city that had once protected her and her brothers against the Fire Nation, burning down into nothing but a pile of ashes, made her feel ridiculously sick and nauseated all at once. After Zuko had shared his little narration, Jin had to cling unto a nearby bush to keep herself from going under. How long would it be before Ozai's thirst for power and dominance would be satiated? How long would it be before he has had enough of his fill? How long would it be before he would be satisfied?

Everyone in the group agreed, of course, almost immediately, that the sun would probably explode and Sokka would metamorphose into a girl before Ozai would be happy with all the people he has killed and with all the cities he has burned into the ground. The solution reached by the group was that Aang had to take the Fire Lord down before the comet ended and the only reasonable conclusion that everyone could agree on, on how to stop Ozai, was to _kill _him. Aang didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea but Zuko was obviously very pleased that Aang had finally started to take things seriously.

Jin anxiously adjusted her arm guards and watched as Sokka began to draw a schematic on the dirt ground. They were training that day, in preparation for Aang's upcoming big fight. Sokka insisted that they all wear their battle gear so that everything would seem real. Zuko, Aang, Toph and Suki didn't have much left of their "battle gear" so they all simply came with their regular clothes on. Sokka flashed his fancy wolf helmet around, Katara put on a pair of leg and arm guards while Jin donned on He Shen's stone arm and leg guards. She decided not to wear the helmet and armor because despite Sokka wanting a realistic feel, wearing a heavy helmet and armor was a little too much.

"In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the 'Melon Lord', our timing has to be perfect," Sokka said as he gestured at their own version of the Fire Lord. It was a watermelon that Sokka had expertly carved into a shape of a face twisted into an evil grin and it was propped up against a wooden frame with a red cloth draped on it. Jin thought that it was slightly funny and hysterical. Zuko wasn't as amused. Despite the fact that he had just condemned his father, he still could not prevent the impulses of being defensive whenever his father was being thoroughly mocked.

Sokka knelt down and began to draw a line with a stick, curving to the left towards the melon-shaped symbol on the ground and he said, "First, Suki and I will draw his fire."

"Then, Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offence and while the 'Melon Lord' is distracted…." Sokka said as he drew a straight line in the middle. Zuko nodded seriously while Katara stared at the plan intently.

"Aang swoops in and BAM! He delivers the final blow," Sokka said triumphantly as he drew a line curving right into the melon symbol. Aang paled and looked away in utter disgust.

"Hey! What about us?" Toph cried indignantly, gesturing at herself and Jin. Jin looked up in surprise; she was so busy listening to Sokka spout off about his plans that she did not realize that Sokka had not mentioned what she and Toph were to do.

"For now, you two would be the Melon Lord's forces," Sokka quickly said.

"So me and Smiley get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you ," Toph excitedly said.

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic," Sokka shrugged.

Toph held her hand out to high-five Jin and Jin gladly returned it as Toph happily said, "Sweetness."

Jin chuckled and said, "I guess that means I'm supposed to be your second-in-command, O Great and Amazing 'Melon Lord'."

She playfully elbowed Toph who laughed and quickly returned it with a much stronger punch. Jin gave a small cry and rubbed at her arm as a bruise started to form.

"Hey!" Jin said.

"Don't 'hey' me Smiley. I'm the Melon Lord, remember?" Toph said as she smirked and wagged a finger at Jin's face.

"Yeah, you can be the crazy 'Melon Princess', 'Melon Lord's' certifiably insane daughter," Sokka shot and everyone but Zuko burst out into laughter at Sokka's obvious reference to Zuko's maniacal sister, Azula. Jin stopped her sniggering as soon as she realized that Zuko was staring at them intently, his arms folded and his expression annoyed and grim. Once everyone realized that Zuko was less-than-pleased, the laughter slowly lulled into a silence.

"She's not going to be crazy when you meet her in the battlefield. She's going to be flat-out vindictive and scheming. She's not someone to be taken lightly with," Zuko said as his lips drew into a tight line. Everyone hushed and stopped whatever snickers and giggles that were still escaping from their mouth.

Zuko then gestured at the "Melon Lord" and said in a slightly angry tone, "And neither is my father. He won't hesitate to roast you alive if everyone one of us makes one wrong move that could cost us the war. Maybe you guys should think about that instead of making ridiculous 'Melon Lord' statues."

He then looked at Toph and Jin, his eyes focused and steely and he said in a brusque and business-like tone, "You guys have to make it realistic. No messing around. _This isn't a game anymore!"_

He practically yelled and spat in front of Toph and Jin and for the first time since she had met him, Jin felt truly afraid of him. He looked so angry and serious, even more so than usual. Jin backed away a little and Zuko, upon noticing her expression, cringed and looked away muttering, "Let's just start."

Sokka weakly nodded and they all took their positions. Jin and Toph hurried over to the "Melon Lord" statue with Toph cursing under her breath. She gave a reproachful look at Jin before saying snippily, "He wants the 'Melon Lord' to be realistic? I'll give your stupid boyfriend _realistic _Smiley."

* * *

It took them a full fifteen minutes to get the set-up ready. Jin lined bowls of fire around the Melon Lord statue and Toph and she filled it with tar and oil. She stepped back and allowed Zuko to firebend on them so that they now burned and glowered into a ferocious ring of flames. Then, while Sokka went off with everyone else to perfect their strategy, Toph yammered from behind Jin, telling her what she was to do and what their plan was, as Jin took a few boulders and arranged some seaweed on them so they looked strangely menacing and ominous as they surrounded Toph. She then earthbent a couple of rock statues that resembled Firebenders and she placed them strategically all over the training grounds. Finally, Jin took a few rocks and rubbed and coated them with more tar and oil and she placed them in a great big bowl at her side along with some clumps of coal.

"So, remember Smiley, we hit them hard and we hit them fast—so fast they won't have time to think. Sparky wants a realistic Melon Lord and Princess? Well, we're going to give it to him—we're going to give it to him real good," Toph said as her lips curved into a small and smug smile.

"Hey, what are you doing? Are you listening to me?" Toph frowned as soon as she realized that Jin was preoccupied with her bowl filled with tar and oil-line stones and coals.

Jin paused from her concentrated work and said with a voice riddled with triumph, "We're supposed to be like the Fire Lord right?"

"Yeah, in all his flaming glory," Toph said as she rolled her eyes.

"I coated some rocks with tar and oil. We earthbend the coals and rocks into the flaming bowls, the ones you see over there—''

"I can't see, Smiley—''

"The ones you _feel _over there, it goes up in flames, we chuck it at them until they're tired and then we take out the big boys," Jin said and she gestured at the boulders with seaweed strapped and piled atop them.

Toph raised a brow and pointed at her eyes, "I can't see Smiley. All I feel are really, heavy, heavy boulders. Are they covered with oil and tar as well?"

Her voice was laced with sarcasm and she was batting her eyelashes in an overly-sweet manner. Jin shrugged it off and said, "There's seaweed on it actually, to make it look more dangerous. I think Sokka once told me that seaweed can catch fire pretty fast. But yeah, I've rubbed some tar and oil on it as well."

"Thank you so much," Toph drawled and Jin replied in a tone that was just as flighty, "Oh, you're very welcome."

They spent the next few hours strategizing on how to make their own interpretation of the Fire Lord as believable as they could. Jin, in particular very much wanted to impress Zuko because she saw that this was something which he took really seriously. He was obviously dissapointed with their lax regard of the Fire Lord's power and ability to crush them all in one swift move. She wanted to show him that she didn't' share the same sentiments. Toph decided that Katara and Zuko would be a bit more difficult to take out since they were both benders. She told Jin that she had to focus on taking Suki and Sokka down while Toph would handle Katara and Zuko.

"Then, when they're all down we take on Aang. Is that understood?" Toph hollered. Jin nodded absentmindedly, a little bored by Toph's long discussion. Suddenly, Toph wagged a finger in front of her and said snippily, "And don't go all nicey-nicey with Sparky, you hear?"

Before Jin could make a clever retort something sliced through the air and it whizzed past the space between them. Out of instinct, Jin and Toph crouched into the ground as the projectile sprung past them once again. Jin looked up and saw that it was Sokka's boomerang.

"It's started!" Jin screeched.

Toph gave her a quick punch on the arm and snapped, "Well, and don't just stay there! Get moving! Bring the soldiers out!"

Jin was quickly on her feet and as Toph started to earthbend the coals and tar-line rocks at Zuko and Katara, Jin made the rock statues form a circle around Suki and Sokka. She said peevishly as Sokka hacked one statue to pieces, "Hey, no fair! You didn't give us a head start!"

Zuko flashed her a charming grin and said, "All's fair in love and war."

Jin stuck her tongue out at him but that only resulted in a swift blow to the head, courtesy of Toph, who then yelled at her, "Focus, Smiley!"

Suki spun, made a flip and impressively crushed a rock soldier while knocking another one down with her feet as Sokka carefully weaved out from behind her to hack a stone soldier that Jin sent to take Suki by surprise from the side. A few feet away from them, Zuko and Katara worked like a well-oiled machine, perfectly in-synch with each other's pace and moves as they nimbly took down the ring of soldiers Toph had sent them. Jin gave a deep breath and earthbent a boulder forward. Zuko and Katara gracefully avoided it with a quick sidestep and it careened straight towards Suki and Sokka. Suki cart wheeled over it while Sokka tripped and nearly smashed his face against the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" Sokka angrily said as he shook his fist in the air.

Before Jin could respond Toph retorted, "Can it, you hobo! All's fair in love and war right?"

Sokka grumpily sighed and said, "Whatever, Toph."

She gave an evil smile before breaking out in a maniacal laugh, "I am not Toph. I am 'Melon Lord'! Muahahahahaha!"

The momentary lapse in Toph's concentration was all they needed. Sokka swung his boomerang, and Jin who was controlling the rock soldiers that surrounded Suki and Toph, ducked as she narrowly avoided it. The brief break in her focus caused the rock soldiers to be more lenient allowing Sokka and Suki to push past them. Toph paused from her laughter only to see that her defenses have been broken down by Katara and Zuko.

"Smiley! The big boys! Bring out the big boys!" Toph frantically said.

Jin scrambled back up and the two of them earthbent the boulders with the seaweed towards the flaming bowls and shot them towards Sokka, Suki, Katara and Zuko. Sokka dodged it clumsily while Suki gracefully jumped over it. Katara fleetly did a backflip as the boulder careened past her. Zuko on the other hand, confidently met the boulder and with a quick swing of his arms, he easily dispelled the flames and jumped over the boulder. Before Toph and Jin could regroup, Sokka and Suki hurtled towards them with Sokka grabbing Jin's arm in a hold and with Suki grabbing her shoulders. Katara and Zuko managed to capture a writhing and screaming Toph.

"Now, Aang!" Sokka hollered as he tried to keep a struggling Jin at bay.

Aang, who had just stood in the corner looking unsure, finally crafted a look of confidence. Using his airbending, he propelled himself through his sole forward, towards the "Melon Lord", his staff raised in a hostile position. As he landed, his staff hung in the air, poised to give the final blow. On his face was a look of pure anger and resentment; his eyes were narrowed and his lips were set in a tight line. Toph and Jin finally stopped struggling, grudgingly admitting defeat and they all stood around him, in a circle, waiting for him to finish what needed to be done.

The staff hung in the air, ready, but suddenly it slackened and Aang's face which was once etched with a look of pure confidence and anger, was suddenly riddled with hesitation and uncertainty. He put his staff down and backed away, his face drooping and folding into a despondent form.

"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" Zuko snapped. He let go of Toph and strode towards Aang his nostrils flaring in anger.

Aang shook his head and looked away from everyone, too ashamed to meet their gaze. He said in a quiet voice, "I can't."

Sokka who was holding Jin by the wrist, frowned and let go, trudging forward in an annoyed manner. He pointed at Aang and accusingly said, "What's wrong with you?"

He spun around to face everyone and he spread his arms out angrily, "If this was the real deal…"

He paused and made a beheading gesture. Aang looked up slowly in shock as Sokka snapped, "You'd be shot full of lightning right now."

Everyone else held their breaths as a thick silence ensued. Aang looked at his feet and nervously hemmed and hawed. Zuko didn't say anything though his face looked as if he approved of Sokka's harsh reproach at Aang while Katara looked a little angry. Jin looked down, unable to meet Aang's sad and despondent gaze. It was necessary—yes. But he was just a kid and Jin always felt a spasm of guilt whenever she thought of how horrible of a position they had placed him in. It was enough to make anyone feel crazy.

"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself," Aang frantically said.

Suddenly, Sokka's machete swung in the air and in one quick second, the "Melon Lord's" head fell from its place and rolled into the ground. Everyone's eyes followed it as it tumbled towards Aang, finally landing in front of him. Aang closed his eyes and grimaced at the violent act. Momo sprung forward and began to lick at the melon and Aang struggled to contain the gorge that rose from within his throat.

Sokka placed his machete back in place and ignored everyone's stares. Jin looked up at Zuko and she saw that while he was obviously a little distraught at the beheading, he wholeheartedly approved of it.

"There," Sokka quietly said as Aang opened his eyes in shock.

Zuko said in a small and sure voice, "That's how it's done."

Though she felt extremely sorry for Aang, Jin could not help but echo a supportive, "Yeah. That's exactly how it should be done."

Aang suddenly scowled, spun around and stormed off, muttering in frustration as everyone but Katara chorused agreements of yes.

* * *

Jin felt bad after the way they treated Aang that day. He was still a boy, not yet a full-grown adult, and already they were heaping so much pressure on him. It was a little unfair of them to do so. They only thought about themselves, not giving a second thought of how Aang might feel about the whole ordeal or whether he would be fine with it.

"I feel horrible," Jin said as soon as Zuko sat next to her, his dinner bowl in hand. Today's dinner was a hearty vegetable stew that was thick with milky broth and carrots and peas and corn and cabbage and some tofu. Katara had made it for Aang, so that he may feel a little better, especially after the hostile rebuke they had all given him that afternoon. Aang wasn't touching his food though. It remained cold and untouched on his lap, his face screwed in a sad and confused expression.

"About what?" Zuko asked as he sipped the broth.

"About Aang," Jin said, a little impatient that Zuko was catching on so slow.

Zuko stared at her in pure disbelief, as if he could not fathom as to why she could ever even think about him or his feelings in times like these. He ate a slice of carrot slowly before saying, "Why? It's the only option. The sooner he starts accepting it, the sooner this stupid war can end."

Jin looked down and mumbled, "But he obviously does not want to end it like _this_."

Zuko shrugged and said, "Well, it's the _only_ way to end this."

"He's twelve and he's afraid and he's nervous. I feel so bad about the way I just turned around and said that to him," Jin whispered as she played with her food. After a moment's pause she said as she fiddled with her chopsticks, "He's a monk and all and I heard that monks were very peace-loving and they couldn't even kill a fly because of the philosophy that each and every life is precious."

After a few minutes of silence she added, "And again, he's twelve."

"He's the Avatar," Zuko numbly said though he looked slightly remorseful.

"He's our friend," Jin sadly said though she knew well enough that despite feeling very sorry for Aang, she agreed with everyone else's sentiments that the only true way to defeat the Fire Lord was to kill him.

"What do you think?" Zuko asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"About….Aang and the Fire Lord," Zuko carefully said. He looked at her, his amber eyes glowing with intensity.

Jin honestly answered him, "I think that the Fire Lord should be killed. But if he has to be killed by Aang….that's another matter—''

"It's his destiny, Jin," Zuko simply said.

"I know," Jin grudgingly acknowledged. It was hard truth. But it was the truth all the same.

Zuko then took her hand and he stroked it gently and said, "Hey, it's going to be all over soon. We all have to do something we don't like at some point or the other, to get what we want. It's just a matter of how you look at things."

Jin's lips curled into a smile and she nudged Zuko's elbow playfully and she said quietly, "When did you get so wise?"

Zuko smiled wistfully and said, "I think some of my uncle's wisdom is rubbing off me."

"I'm actually surprised it got through your thick head," Jin snickered and Zuko pretended to look angry though his eyes were crinkled in delight and mirth.

The two of them continued to talk, with much lighter topics at hand and the whole group proceeded to eat their dinner heartily. Sokka was complaining loudly about Katara's cooking, since he was very much hoping for something meatier than vegetable stew. Suki pretended to listen to Sokka's ranting although she was mournfully picking at her food, bored. Toph was more engrossed in her eating; she ate her food with relish and savor, taking long amounts of time to chew it in such a delighted manner. No one noticed the Avatar, the despondent boy at the corner who could not bring himself to eat, for a long time up until Katara came striding in, a scroll in her hands.

"I have a surprise for everyone!" Katara excitedly said.

They all looked up in anticipation, with Toph being the most eager. She burst out, "I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!"

Katara's eyes widened and she gave a blank look while everyone else stared at Toph in equally expressionless faces. Toph, apparently realizing her folly, quickly looked down and began to pick at her food in an embarrassed fashion. Katara looked away as if to dispel the momentarily lapse of their merriment before finally looking back at the group and saying quietly, "Er, no."

As if that was all they needed to return to their original state of exuberance, everyone, save Aang, began to quickly return to their eating.

"I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this," Katara excitedly said as she threw the scroll downwards and unfurled it.

On it was a very beautifully drawn portrait of a baby; its chubby hands were thrown up in the air, ready to catch an invisible plaything, its adorable little feet were posed in a pattering motion of pure childhood perfection and the little, cherub face was stretched into a look of unadulterated, untainted innocence. All in all it summed up to a rather delightful and endearing portrait.

"Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?" Katara said as she showed the picture around. Zuko's face fell into a deep frown as everyone clamored over to Katara to take a better look at the photo. His frown especially grew deeper once he realized that Jin was among those who moved closer to take a better look.

Jin in particular, looked very happy and enamored. She squealed, "Awww…Zuko you look so adorable! Just look at that cute nose!"

Everyone continued to coo and gush and Sokka made a small joke about baby Zuko and everyone laughed. Only Zuko hung back, his expression irritated and his eyes closed.

"Oh lighten up, I was just teasing," Katara said as soon as she realized that Zuko was not amused.

Zuko opened his eyes and avoided everyone's gaze as he said, "That's not me. It's my father."

Everyone stilled from the shock of the thing. Jin especially felt her mouth go dry as she took a look at the picture once again. How could this adorable baby grow up to be the murderer of so many people?

"But he looked so sweet and innocent," Sokka disbelievingly said as he pointed at the picture once again. Jin involuntarily gave a nod of agreement.

Zuko's expression curdled and he said in a slightly sad but angry tone, "Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst Father in the history of Fathers."

Jin was a little ashamed to admit, that an involuntary surge of disagreement overcame her once Zuko said that. She fleetingly thought about her dad and how he was the one who was the worst father in the history of fathers. But then, she remembered that she didn't hate him and that she loved her dad despite his shortcomings. She ducked her head and silently berated herself for even thinking about such things.

"But he is still a human being," Aang said as everyone turned their attention at him.

"You're going to defend him ," Zuko said in disbelief. It was a statement of fact, not a question of verification and something about it sent an air of reprove around them.

Aang slowly stood up, shook his head and said, "No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the World will probably be better off without him. There's gotta be another way."

"Like what ?" Zuko demanded his tone angry and upset.

"I don't know. Maybe we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore," Aang said, his hands moving in vivid gestures, his voice ringing with subdued hope.

"Yeah. Then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again," Zuko sarcastically said, his eyes rolling in disdained mockery. Everyone but Katara began to snicker and giggle nervously.

Aang in his naïveté perked up and said excitedly, "Do you really think that would work ?"

Zuko scowled and his face turned more serious. He faced Aang and sternly said, "No!"

Aang dropped his head and sighed, "This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like…"

He began to pace forward and backward with anxiety, his hands wrung and his face drawn. Sokka, in his usual humorous and self-effacing manner, said, "Sure, you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you."

Aang suddenly whirled around burst out in hot temper, "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!"

Everyone grew silent from his outburst. Finally, Jin said in a meek and quiet voice, "Aang, it's true that we don't understand about what you're going through. But we_ do_ understand about what needs to be done to win the war."

"So you think that to end all this violence I have to do it with more violence?" Aang spat in disgust as he turned at her, his eyebrows drawn in anger.

Jin looked surprise at his reaction. Her face looked firm and assured but her voice betrayed a tone of slight fear and meekness, "All I'm saying is you can't defeat the Fire Lord by being polite and nice to him! He's the kind of person that shouldn't be allowed to live. If you let him go, he's going to wreak more havoc and kill more people… All I'm saying is that maybe killing is the only way to deal with people like him!"

Aang stared back at her fiercely and snapped, "Of course you would say that! Your dad's a crazy and insane war lord and general who probably taught you that killing is the only way to go!"

Jin shrank back, a little hurt and afraid of his rebuke. She had always admired and respected Aang as a hero and as someone to be regarded with dignity and reverence. His angry reproach at her made her feel as if she had dissapointed him and made him think of her as less of a person somehow.

"Don't talk to her like that! She's only telling you what she thinks! What _everyone _in here thinks! And maybe…maybe what she's saying is right!" Zuko suddenly said, looking annoyed and angry at Aang's temperamental outburst at his girlfriend.

Katara decided that it was time to stop the argument that was slowly starting to boil over. She said trying to appease everyone, "Aang, relax. What Jin is trying to say is that we do understand. It's just…"

Aang looked at her and rudely interrupted, "Just what, Katara ! What ?"

Katara now looked visibly annoyed. She said, "We're trying to help."

"Then you—'' He pointed to Katara.

"And you—'' He gave Jin a pointed look.

He continued, "—figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, then I would love to hear it!"

He scowled, raised his arms in exasperation before turning around and storming off into the opposite direction. Katara moved a step forward and frantically said, "Aang, don't walk away from this!"

Zuko stopped Katara by grabbing her shoulder and saying, "Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."

Toph shook her head and said the prevalent truth that no one wanted to admit, "He better sort it out fast, then. We don't have the time."

* * *

Jin nervously toyed with the hem of her sleeve as the cold night air whipped past her face and stung her into wakefulness. She looked over to the side and tried to keep herself from vomiting, a side effect she always experienced when riding on Appa. During her first ride on him, she had remained stiff and anxious, clinging rigidly unto his saddle. Tonight wasn't any different. The ride still felt very different and unnatural to her and coupled with the fact that she was bursting with anticipation and anxiety; it was no small wonder as to why she was not having a particularly enjoyable experience as she sat stiffly on Appa's back.

So far, after their little argument with Aang, things have been one big disaster after another. Aang had disappeared, nobody could find him and now they were travelling a hundred miles away from the Fire Nation in their quest to locate him. Zuko was a little miffed and angry, thinking that Aang had gone off to run away from his responsibilities. Jin thought that something horrible had happened to him and that they seriously needed to find and rescue him at once. Katara though that it was all their fault for being so mean to him and Aang probably went into retreat out of fear or apprehension at what they were all about to make him do. Toph thought that they were all overreacting and that Aang was probably back at camp wondering where they all were. Sokka on the other hand, was very sure that Appa had eaten Aang and he now regarded the bison with much suspicion.

Zuko had been declared as the leader in their search party since three years of trailing the Avatar has left him with the most experience of being able to decipher Aang's whereabouts. Aside from that, he was a good, solid, dependable leader who despite his hot temper, could be levelheaded if the time came for it.

"You okay, back there Smiley?" Toph, who was desperately clinging unto the saddle just as much as Jin was, called out as soon as she realized that Jin was the only one who remained quiet in their little group.

"Just feeling a little cold," Jin roared back from the din of the wind. She tried not to think about the fact that they were probably more than a hundred feet from the ground and if Appa were to convulse and throw them all off, she would probably die a particularly horrible and painful death.

"You never get used to it," Toph muttered, her voice sharp and brittle. It was a bit harder for her than Jin. She was blind and up there, sitting on Appa's saddle, she could see nothing since her feet were not placated on the nice, solid earth. She was in a sense, now utterly blind.

Jin nodded silently and answered another query of concern from Zuko before deciding that she needed to do something to distract herself. Stiffly, she craned her neck forward and tried to steal a look at the surroundings from below. They were long past gone from the Fire Nation territory, she realized with a start. The ground was thick and riddled with the signature, rocky Earth Kingdom terrain and thick, carpets of forests began to appear along the corners. The coastline started to thin into landlocked areas and the sandy, gravelly Fire Nation soil began to disappear. When they had crossed a particular area, a place that had small houses cluttered together with a huge, bigger house at the middle bordered by mountains in the north, east and west and a forest at the south, she quickly recognized it as her first home Li-Jien. And with that she knew. For some unfathomable reason Zuko had brought them to the Earth Kingdom, believing that Aang was there.

Apparently, Sokka realized it too because he finally stopped his long story about how he caught a whale shark and said, "Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

Zuko barely turned to look at Sokka. He said, undeterred, "Just trust me."

They continued to fly on and Jin amused herself by looking at more scenery. Finally, Appa dipped downwards and Jin had to hold her stomach in as they made the gradual drop to the ground. Finally, they landed with a thud in a thick, forested area. Everyone quickly scrambled out and Zuko quickly helped Jin down.

"Fine! Ignore the blind girl!" Toph whined, though she managed to hop off Appa perfectly enough. They all made a few quick stretches and after Jin managed to get the feeling back in her arms she realized that noise and loud music and the sound of boisterous laughter were to be heard from her right. She turned at that direction and saw a building that was three stories high. People milled in and out of it and the lights looked low and dim.

Zuko grabbed her wrist and tugged at it and together, they silently entered the building. As soon as Jin stepped inside it, Jin immediately knew it was a tavern filled with drunken men and lowered inhibitions. She had accompanied her two elder brothers in enough bars to recognize the alcohol and all the intoxicated inebriation in the air.

Suddenly, thinking about her brothers made her feel a painful pang in her chest. Ge Jiang was gone but at least she knew that he was safe and that he could take care of himself. He Shen on the other hand was another matter. She had no idea or news of him whatsoever. He could be imprisoned or tortured…or…_dead_. Jin shuddered and refused to think about it.

"And the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now ?" Katara warily demanded. She was obviously still a little suspicious about being here. Jin could remember the incident when she took Katara to the tavern. Jin on the other hand didn't really mind. Taverns were the best places to get information. She perfectly understood, at least to some extent, as to why Zuko brought them here.

Zuko wordlessly pointed in one direction and said dryly, "June."

Everyone turned to look at June, a tall slim but shapely woman sitting in one corner and dismissively sipping her tea as huge burly man lunged at her. She quickly stopped him with his leg and in one effortless motion, she pushed him down. Jin stared at her with a mixture of awe and fear, completely entranced with her graceful but dangerous movements. Everyone, along with Jin, gasped. June looked up and smile triumphantly, obviously pleased with all the attention.

"Oh yeah, that weird bounty hunter with a giant mole!" Sokka said with a start after he finally remembered who she was.

"Mole? Her skin is flawless," Suki said in a distracted voice, her eyes examining June with respect.

The fight continued on with June moving at a faster pace and a more confident swagger and her opponent looking more and more incompetent and ridiculous by the second. Sokka shook his head as he continued to watch and said, "No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on."

June deftly dodged him, threw her tea up in the air and after giving him a good kick in the back, caught it once again and sipped it indifferently.

"Her shirshu. It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the World. It's the one shot we have of finding him," Zuko said.

Her opponent tried to throw punches at June. It narrowly missed her tea cup as she threw it up into the air. Time seemed to slow down as the tea cup rotated in the air as an angry and annoyed June threw the challenger over her shoulder when he tried to lunge at her. All the patrons widened their eyes and scrambled away as he landed on the table a second later, knocking off all the dishes on the table. June grabbed her falling tea cup without spilling any of its contents and all the merriment quickly ended. She turned away and drank her tea.

Toph smirked, her lips stretched into a wide smile and she said, "I don't know this June lady is but I like her."

"Hey, I remember her. She helped you attack us!" Sokka said with a start, his eyes set in a slightly accusing gaze.

"Yup, back in the good old days," Zuko sighed as he looked away from Sokka and ventured towards June.

June looked up and her expression was apathetic and almost dismissive. She said dryly, "Oh great, it's Prince Pouty. Where's your creepy grandpa?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed as she refilled her tea cup, his voice sharp as he said, "He's my Uncle, and he's not here."

Everyone else gathered around them and when June saw Katara she smirked and said, "I see you worked things out with your girlfriend."

Katara and Zuko immediately launched into a litany of denials and Jin tried to suppress her giggles at Katara and Zuko's reddened faces and embarrassed expressions. June gave a loud roar of a laughter and said, "Okay, okay, sheesh. I was only teasing."

She then sat back and said, "So what do you want?"

Zuko opened his mouth and began, "We need you too—''

"Hey, I was talking about what kind of tea you wanted. I just won a big payday today so drinks are all on me. If you're going to ask something it might as well be over a good cup of tea," June shrugged her expression patronizing and riddled with airy politeness.

Zuko, already annoyed and riled up, scowled, "We don't have time—''

"Hey, Ryu! Come over here and get their orders for tea! It's all on me!" Jun once again interrupted as she called over to a portly old man that was barrel-chested and had a thick neck the size of some people's thighs.

"Yeah, sure thing June," Ryu said as he waddled towards them.

Zuko was on the verge of breaking out and yelling at June. Jin had to grab his hand to keep him from bursting out into a full temperamental outburst as June idly said, "I'd let you have some beer or some rice wine but you're all underage so I guess it's just going to be tea for you _kiddies."_

Zuko hotly snapped once he realized that she was referring o them as children, "Look, here, we don't—''

"I'd like some lychee tea," Sokka interrupted as soon as Ryu had come over to them.

"What are you doing Sokka? We're supposed to be looking for Aang," Zuko hissed at him.

Sokka shrugged and said, "Hey, it's free tea. And it could take a long time for us to strike a deal up. Might as well drink some tea over it."

Everyone was enthusiastic over the idea, except for Zuko, and June was perfectly satisfied and amused that she had managed to annoy Zuko to such a great extent. She had not forgotten all the fuss Zuko and his uncle had caused her, not to mention the fact that he refused to pay her because he claimed that she didn't do her job properly. Irritating him and riling him up seemed like such a wonderful way to extract revenge.

"Green tea for me," Katara said as Ryu faced her.

"Same here," Suki chorused.

"I'd like some red tea," Toph ordered as soon as Katara and Suki were done giving there's.

"Lychee as well," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

Finally Jin spoke up and said, "Jasmine for me, please."

And when she did so, June suddenly looked at her direction and it seemed as if she had finally noticed Jin for the first time since they had gotten there. She squinted her eyes and examined Jin, an analytical and almost calculating look glazing over her as she stared at Jin from up and down. Jin felt ridiculously uncomfortable as June pursed her lips and continued look at her.

Finally, much to everyone's shock and surprise, June suddenly sprang up and made a motion to grab Jin by the shoulder. Jin quickly avoided it and blocked June's hand with her wrist. June's eyes narrowed and Jin tried to understand what could have possibly driven her to suddenly attack her like this. Zuko said something from behind her but before she could process whatever he was trying to say June quickly followed-up with another punch and soon enough the two of them were engaged in a fight with Jin trying to parry many of June's swift blows.

Suddenly a wall of fire came between them and Zuko, who had been previously trying to keep all his anger and impatience in, was now ready to let it all out, especially since June had just attacked his girlfriend. He snapped, "What's going on with you two?"

"She attacked me first!" Jin accused, her eyes narrowed, her shoulders tensed.

June pursed her lips once again before assuming a more relaxed stance. Jin however continued to look at June suspiciously, a little paranoid that this might be another trick. June noticing Jin's suspicion merely shrugged and gave a dismissive wave, "Sorry. Old habits."

"What are you talking about! You just attacked my girlfriend for no reason!" Zuko raged, flecking specks of his saliva at June as he ranted. Behind him, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph stood in silence, trying to assess the situation.

"She's your girlfriend?" June snickered.

Zuko snapped, "That's not the—''

"I hope you're treating her nicely! Otherwise she'll scram like the other one," June said through fits of laughter as she jerked a thumb at Katara. Katara's face visibly reddened.

Zuko lost all his patience and he roared, threatening her with a flame that burst from his palm, "Enough! Answer my question!"

Jin narrowed her eyes as June said easily, "She's got a huge bounty on her head, Pouty. I'm a bounty hunter you idiot. What do you expect me to do?"

Jin's tension eased a little once she had heard this. At least now she knew that June wasn't attacking her because she simply felt like it. Zuko on the other hand, wasn't as appeased. He ranted on, "So you were just planning to turn her over to the Fire Nation!"

June as always answered with an apathetic yawn. She sighed airily and said, "No that bounty's really small compared to the other one being offered to me."

"What? What do you mean?" Jin asked curiously. Someone else had offered a bounty for her. Truth to be told, Jin wasn't really sure who else would want to get a hold of her. She had been keeping a relatively low profile since she nearly got herself killed from trying to steal from the mayor's house. Aside from that, she wasn't anyone special or important like Zuko who was the exiled Prince of the fire Nation or Toph who was the runaway daughter of a rich, noble man.

"Matches the description and the picture. Tall, slim, slender but shapely, small nose, big, wide green or hazel eyes, soft, rounded jaw-line, choppy, straight, uneven hair…..now if I can get Nyla to sniff her out then I'd be pretty sure," June muttered, mostly to herself.

"No one's sniffing her out," Zuko protectively said as he stepped in front of Jin.

June's lips suddenly curved into a smile and she said, "Of course no one would be sniffing her out because now I'm pretty sure, she's the one."

She easily sidestepped Zuko, leaned forward and before Jin could stop her, her hands stretched towards her necks, tightened around a cord that hung from her neck and in one swift motion, she pulled it out for all to see. Jin paled a little. It was her identification tablet with the small piece of jagged jade at the side. How could she have known? Jin immediately knew that whoever was asking for her, was someone she knew personally. She allowed herself to experience the surge of hope that rose from her chest, bringing in the possibility that it might be her father looking for her and that he might actually care.

"You're not going to get her for your bounty," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

June folded her arms and smirked. She looked at Jin with a glint in her eyes and she said, "I know all of you need me to do something."

"I need your help finding the Avatar," Zuko said his voice now sounding a little anxious. He had a feeling that he knew where June was trying to go at this.

"Hmph. Doesn't sound too fun," June said as she leaned back and took another sip of her tea.

Zuko roared, "Does the end of the World sound like more fun ?"

"No, but you know what would sound more fun? Money in my hands," June said as she gave one more meaningful look in Jin's direction.

"Forget it," Zuko said forcefully.

"Well, you and your little friends can forget about the Avatar as well," June simply said as she grabbed a chair and sat down. Zuko faced turned into a violent shade of vermilion as he tried to figure out if he should burn June alive or try to be amiable enough to strike a deal.

"Okay, I'll do it," Jin sighed wearily before Zuko could open his mouth and say something stupid.

Everyone looked in her direction and their jaws dropped. Zuko looked especially shocked.

"You can't do this!" Zuko said.

"Are you crazy! You're going to allow yourself to get turned over to some freak who paid lots of money just to get you caught!" Sokka said, his jaws dropping.

"She's obviously not going to help us unless I do so. We're wasting time!" Jin said as she stamped her foot.

"I'm not going to let you do this!" Zuko said as he grabbed her wrist.

"Oh, lighten up Pouty. The one who asked for your girl won't kill her or anything. He just wanted to talk to her," June said in what she supposed was to be her reassuring voice.

Zuko didn't feel too appeased. He protested, "I won't—''

"Whoever he is, he knows me. How else would he have known about this?" Jin said as she gestured at the identification tablet and jade.

"It's okay you guys," Jin said as soon as she realized that everyone still looked reluctant and hesitant.

"But—''

"If it gets too bad, then I'll fight. Come on, Zuko. _Please. _For Aang," Jin said as she reached out and grabbed Zuko's hand pleadingly. Zuko looked at her and firmly shook his head.

"Smiley's right, Sparky. She's gotta do this," Toph spoke up.

Zuko looked at her and snarled, "No, she doesn't have to—''

"I _do_ have to. And the sooner you let me, the sooner we can find Aang," Jin said her eyes determined and steely.

Zuko shook his head and said, "But—''

"She's tough, Sparky. And I would know because she's_ my_ student and _I_ taught her. She can handle herself," Toph said once again.

Zuko closed his eyes, silently mulling it over. Then he let out a long, deep sigh and he said, "Where is he now?"

June looked at him and said, "Who?"

"The guy who wanted to you to catch Jin," Zuko said impatiently.

"Out in the back taking a nap," June said.

Jin took a deep breath and she removed her hand from Zuko's. She took a step forward and nodded at June who gestured at her to wait and said, "Stay here. First, I'll get my bounty before you get over there."

She turned around and disappeared into the back leaving Zuko to fume in silence. Jin sighed and she quietly toyed with the hem of her blouse, nervous and anxious as to whom it might be. Everyone else said nothing except Katara who told Jin that they would be outside and in the event of her ever needing them, all she had to do was scream and cry out. Finally June came back, a drawstring bag that clinked heavily with coins in her right hand, her left hand gesturing at Jin to go into the back.

"He's in one of his moods but I'm sure he won't bite, _right away,"_ June smirked, her eyes narrowed with malice. Jin ignored her and went forward, giving a quick goodbye to everyone else and pushing past June.

As she left Zuko cried, "If he tries anything _funny,_ call out for me!"

She moved forward and weaved herself through the intoxicated men and loud, brash women to reach a small door outfitted at the back. Her palms became sweaty and her chest tightened as numerous possibilities of who might be behind that door—all of them being murderous and sadistic—flitted through her head. Finally, once she stood in front of the door staring at it, trying to figure out what she could do if indeed he was someone violent and not someone she knew. She sighed and decided to just simply get it over with. She stretched her hand out towards the latched and gripped it.

Just as she was about to open it she heard the faint sound of someone singing loudly. She suddenly knew who it was. And she felt excited. She quickly opened the door, her anxiety quickly being replaced with that of anticipation. The door swung open and Jin's previously elated feelings quickly dropped as soon as she saw the figure before her.

He was leaning against the wall, his hands strumming the liuqin vacantly, and his lips moving wildly as he sang a song that was incomprehensible. His eyes were sharp and wild as if he was looking at an unspeakable and unbearable horror right now but at the same time it was glazed and vacant as if his mind was truly not there. His long hair, which had always been messy, had grown so much longer and they now occupied a great portion of his face. His shirt was ragged and torn and it showed off numerous bruises, cuts, burns and scars and his long, fine nose now had a slight bump at the bridge, an indication that it might have been broken at one point or the other. A huge gash spread across his upper lip and his hands which continued to strum at the liuqin were knotted and hardened.

Jin's voice cracked and tears leaked at the corners of her eyes as she said, "He Shen."

* * *

Everyone of them gathered around June as she cajoled and snuggled up to her shirsu, Nyla. Zuko found it beyond disgusting that she actually treated her shirsu, an animal, a lot better and more decently than most people. He refused to participate or indirectly address her as everyone clamored closer as her shirsu sniffed at Aang's staff because he was still annoyed at the fact she had made Jin go off to some unknown man because of a bounty. He continued to stand there at the corner, sulking in such an angry fashion as Nyla circled around them , trying desperately to catch Aang' s scent.

Finally, Nyla scrambled back, in front of June and lowered herself unto the ground, rubbing her snout against her paws.

"Well, what does that mean?" Toph demanded.

June looked worried but she said in her usual dismissive manner, "It means your friend's gone."

Everyone stilled and Zuko finally broke out from his angry stupor to pay attention. They all crowded around June, nervous and at the same time curious at what being gone could possibly mean.

"We know he's gone, that's why we're trying to find him," Toph said impatiently, voicing what was in everyone's thoughts.

"No, I mean he's gone _gone_. He doesn't exist," June said as she turned her back at them. Everyone visibly tensed, worried and afraid of this new development.

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist? Do you mean he's… you know, dead?" Sokka demanded as he wrung his hands in frustration and worry. Zuko's chest tightened at the possibility. If he died, then they would all be doomed and everything he and everyone went through would be for nothing. Also, how horrible would it be for Aang, a mere twelve year old who had not lived most of his life yet. He sincerely hoped that it wasn't the case.

"Nope, we could find him if he were dead," June said. Zuko felt considerably lighter as soon as she said that but his mood was once again dampened by the apologetic and sad expression on June's face.

"Ah, it's a real head scratcher. I can't help you. See ya," June shrugged as she patted her shirsu and made a turn to leave.

"Helpful, real helpful. We just herded Smiley off to a potential freak for nothing," Toph said as she shook her head.

Thinking about Jin, made Zuko all the more determined. He was firm and resolved to make sure that this meeting with June was not going to waste. He grabbed her shoulder and said, "Wait."

June looked at him and raised a brow as everyone stared at Zuko curiously. He faced the group and said, "I have another idea. There's only one other person in this World who can help us face the Fire Lord."

He turned around and faced June, saying with resolve, "I'll be right back with a smell sample."

* * *

He Shen looked up and Jin nearly burst into tears when she saw that his eyes betrayed a look that said that something was not quite right with him or his mind. His fingers continued to strum at the liuqin vacantly, his lips continued to move as he sing an unintelligible song that was loud and high-pitched and odd at some notes. He looked at Jin, his eyes wide with fear as if he could not recognize her, his own sister.

"Shen?" Jin said, this time her voice barely a whisper.

He Shen stopped singing and he narrowed his eyes and stared her. He then said his voice slightly suspicious and accusing, "Is it really you, Jin? Was that June lady telling the truth! Is it really you?"

His voice was riddled with so much urgency and brokenness that Jin immediately reacted on impulse. She rushed towards him and hugged him. He became rigid and he tried to forcibly pry Jin away from him in rushed, frantic movements. Jin however held on steadfastly and she clutched and held unto he brother resolutely.

"It's me He Shen. It's me Jin, your sister," Jin said in a sad and broken voice as she hugged him. He Shen remained stiff and unmoving, his eyes narrow and suspicious.

"How do I know that it really you?" he demanded, his voice a little harsh.

"You gave her—June—the money. You must've believed her," Jin said, her voice filled with desperation.

"I only gave her half. I need to know if it's really you, Jin, my sister, first before I give her the other half," He Shen said, his voice still tight and severe.

Jin fingered her identification tablet and showed it to him and she said in desolation, "He Shen, it i_s _me. Jin."

He Shen looked at it and he looked at Jin full in the face and it seemed as if he had finally recognized her. He wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug and began to sob brokenly, "Jin…Jin…Oh Spirits I thought I'd never see you or Jiang again….I mean I tried to find the two of you…there was this bounty hunter who said she could find you but she needed some of your stuff to smell you out or something but I didn't have any and I thought…..Oh Spirits!"

He continued to sob against her, his tears gently wetting Jin's cheeks and rolling down in big, great drops at her hands. His cries rose into big, great, howling moans and Jin had to keep herself from breaking out into tears as well. Suddenly, it seemed as if his momentary lapse in sanity had gone because he started to whisper under his breath, "They're all after me…they're all after me…they're all going to kill me…they'll all cut off my hands and feet and burn me alive…."

"He Shen, no one's after you! You're safe now—''

He suddenly pushed her aside and waved his liuqin in a threatening manner at Jin. Jin's eyes widened as her brother brandished it and yelled at her, "I know who you are! You can't hurt me! I'll get to you first!"

"He Shen no one's out to get you! It's me! Jin! Your sister!" Jin yelled, losing all traces of control as she watched her brother crumble into madness.

He Shen stared at her before turning around and clutching his head wailing to himself, "How do I know you're not trying to trick me!"

"Because I'm your sister and I would never trick you!" Jin said. She shook her head. This could not be happening again. Her brother could not be going crazy because of war. Just like her father. What had they done to him to turn him into this? Jin's hands began to shake as He Shen muttered in a fast manner, again and again, as if he was repeating it to make himself understand better, "She's my sister not a Firebender…she's my sister not a Firebender…she's my sister not a Firebender…she's my sister not a _Firebender!"_

A chunk of the earthen wall flew off and it hurtled towards Jin. Jin quickly earthbent it into the side and she turned around and saw Zuko, his face pale and his mouth drawn.

"What the—''

"What do you want?" Jin hissed.

"We have to go now. We need to look for my uncle," Zuko said as he stared suspiciously at He Shen. He Shen glared back at him, his eyes twitching and his fingers rapidly strumming the liuqin.

"There's a Firebender…." He Shen murmured and the tune he was playing on his liuqin grew faster. He then once again pointed it at Zuko and hollered, "I'm not telling you anything! You'll not get a word out of me on where the Avatar is or where the other Resistance members are! You'll never break me!"

Jin's heart almost broke when he said that. He was already broken. She strode towards him and tried to calm him down as she stroked his back and sang a quiet song and said comforting words. Zuko watched at a good distance, slightly puzzled and confused. He Shen lapsed into a momentary state of sanity and he closed his eyes and shook and said brokenly to Jin, "I'm sorry. I forget sometimes."

Jin whispered, "It's okay. It's okay to forget."

She then turned around and pushed Zuko outside and called out to He Shen, "I'm going to be back Shen. Just wait here. I'm going to be back."

He Shen didn't answer her. Instead he faced the wall and closed his eyes, strumming his liuqin at such a loud volume as if he was desperately trying to block a particularly painful sound out.

As soon as the door closed from behind her, Jin's shoulders sagged and she closed back her eyes, trying to force the tears back into their ducts. Her hands clutched the hem of her shirt tightly and she tried to calm herself down as Zuko looked at her worriedly. Much to Jin's relief, Zuko clutched her and stroked her hair and said nothing about it.

Despite him not asking though, Jin murmured into his chest in dry, racked sobs, "That was my brother back there. That was He Shen."

* * *

_One thing that I noticed about the series was how they never really showed one of the dire effects of war. I mean sure they showed each and every character's struggle to heal and overcome their grief at some episodes but they never really touched on the fact that war does produce lots of psychological damages. I guess since it is a show aimed towards younger demographics, mental deterioration and madness gained from the war or torture is something too heavy to show to children. He Shen here, is kind of the embodiment of one of war's cruel effects—insanity. Not as far-fetched as some of you may imagine. I know many war veterans who are beyond curable and are currently residing in psychiatric wards and most of them who gets affected by this are usually those who participated in war, firsthand itself—they actually went in battles and skirmishes, got tortured for information and got captured. _

_Anyway, next chapter update would probably be in like May something. I'm taking a study tour to China and I heard that lots of websites are blocked there. I'm not sure if is one of those blocked websites. If it's not then I encourage you to tell me so perhaps it would not take me a month to update. I'm already starting on the next chapter.  
_

_Anyways thanks again to those who added this story to their favorites, story alerted this and added me a as a favorite author._

_Thanks to those who reviewed: Analie Janes (sorry for the grammatical errors but sometimes I get so tired of proofreading the chapters sometimes that I just upload it right away. I'll try to keep them to minimum), ArrayePL, Panther-Strife, Shakeru, tgbwe, ogreking, jrba95._

_Please, please always read and review. _


	27. Part XXV

**Burning Bright**

_Part XXV_

He Shen was a mixture of hysteria and paranoia for the entire duration of their trip to Ba Sing Se. He violently shook and randomly yelled for the most part and whenever he managed to maintain a level of sanity for a few minutes, his voice was so wrought with anxiety that he began to increasingly push Jin into such a deep level of fear and concern. As they made camp outside of Ba Sing Se, He Shen, completely untrusting of everyone (including his own sister) shambled off to a corner where he made himself a small fort with his earthbending. Every once in a while he would suddenly chuck rocks at them and yell something unintelligible. On the whole about the matter, Jin was very upset and she was left deep in thought for many minutes.

"I don't understand what they could've done to turn him into this!" she scowled in frustration.

Zuko knew. He knew the many tortures and methods of torment that the Fire Nation used in their bid to win any information regarding their enemies. But he chose to simply watch Jin, unwilling to make her further upset by telling her exactly what the Fire Nation was capable of doing. As he lied down and started to fall into slumber, he held her close and stroked her hair as she continued her spiel of worry and concern for her brother.

He wanted to make everything better for her of course. But this was one of those situations that were out of his hands. No amount of money or effort or time on his part could help He Shen. He just wanted Jin to realize that as well so that she may be able to focus on the bigger problem at hand—finding Aang and possibly going through Sozin's Comet without him.

All of them slept on Appa's soft, downy fur and despite the weariness this day had caused them, they all slept restlessly. Sokka was nervous for the day that was to come while Katara was worried sick of what had happened to Aang. Suki was doubtful that they would ever find Aang , Zuko was worried of how they would fare without the Avatar by their side, Toph was busy wondering what would happen if she somehow got herself enclosed in a metal contraption and Jin, despite her efforts to remain focused on the comet, continually turned her thoughts back unto her brother. She was just grateful that everyone else was too preoccupied with their own ruminations to further comment or observe upon He Shen's erratic behavior.

Halfway through the evening Zuko felt Jin stir from beside him and he sat up and watched as she looked up in the sky, her eyes darting every minute or so to her brother who had finally succumbed to sleep, albeit it was a restless slumber for he continued to toss and turn and mutter incessantly.

"Hey. It's been a long day. You need to sleep," Zuko said as he scooted closer towards her.

Jin spoke without glancing at him, "I know. I just need time to sort things out first."

"He's going to be fine. We'll get help for him as soon as—''

"What kind of help, Zuko? How are we going to get it? We're going into war! There's no more time for anything!" Jin said, her voice cracking in frustration.

"Calm down. We're going to meet my uncle. He'll know what to do. Everything's going to work out," Zuko said as he grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Jin was now far beyond any level of comfort but Zuko's calm and reasonable manner of speaking allowed her to gain some control back. Yes, they would get He Shen fixed up—there was nothing seriously wrong with him to begin with, he was just shaken up. This whole matter would get sorted out, once they finished taking the Fire Lord down. Jin murmured firmly, "Yeah, you're right. It's all going to be fine."

Zuko thought that it sounded more as if she was trying desperately to convince herself that it was going to happen. He opened his mouth, ready to re-assure her once again when a curtain of fire suddenly enveloped their line of vision. Jin immediately sprang upwards as everyone, especially He Shen, became aware that they were surrounded by flames. He Shen began to yell hysterically and Jin, in her anxious concern, tried to make a dash through the flames. Zuko grabbed her hand in panic and yelled, "Wait!"

"He's going to end up hurting someone if I don't stop him," Jin said as she tried to fight off Zuko's grasp.

"Jin—''

"Zuko, I have to—''

Their little struggle was interrupted as the fire died down. Four stately and impressive-looking people in blue robes appeared from within the gate. Sokka, Katara, Toph and Suki looked up and relaxed from the tensed positions they were in as the four figures slowly started to come forward. Since Zuko was distracted, Jin chose the moment to grab her hand back and to run to her brother who was currently hacking a nearby bush with a rock.

One of them threw his hood back and snorted with laughter, "Well, look who's here."

It was Bumi.

Katara and Sokka immediately raised their brows in recognition as Bumi started to howl in laughter. Toph incredulously shook her head and said in confusion, "What's going on? We're surrounded by old people."

Katara gave a small laugh as she walked towards them and said, "Not just any old people. These are great masters and friends of ours."

Jin, who had finally managed to calm her brother down, looked up in surprise as she examined the four figures before them. They were all elderly and yet they looked extremely formidable in stature and in stance. One of them was stooped and hunchback; his face twisted into a slightly crazy expression. It was different kind of craziness from He Shen's however. It was a craziness that marked ingenuity. There were two with graying hairs—one had a large bald patch over his head and he looked of Water Tribe origin while the other had a scar running down his right eye. The other didn't look quite as old; he was a middle-aged man with a pleasant countenance.

Jin immediately recognized the stooped man and so did He Shen, despite the fact that he was hiding behind a tree and he was strumming his liuqin frantically.

"Bumi….it's that crazy old king! Ha! Ha! But he's not crazy as _me_ now…" He Shen said in one rapid sentence, his voice giving way to a nervous laugh. Jin nodded in affirmation as she tried to hush him. He was indeed King Bumi and Jin had sometimes seen him along with other Earth kingdom kings in her father's war meetings.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries. Katara bowed respectfully to Pakku who in turn told her this, "It is respectful to bow to an old master but how about a hug for your new grandfather?"

He opened his arms wide and Katara collapsed into them in pure delight saying as she did so, "That's so exciting. You and Gran Gran must be so happy to have found each other again."

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything," Pakku proudly informed them, gesturing at his collarbone. Sokka comically pushed past Katara and enveloped Pakku in a great big hug, yelling, "Welcome to the family Gramp Gramp."

Pakku frowned and disgustedly pushed Sokka away, firmly saying, "You can still just call me Pakku."

"How about Grand Pakku?" Sokka hopefully said.

Much to Sokka's dissapointment, Pakku responded flatly, "No."

Katara then gestured to Jeong Jeong and she eagerly introduced him to Zuko as Aang's first firebending teacher. Zuko gave a respectful bow while Jeong Jeong commented that he felt honored to have met a respected (and respectable) member of the Royal family. Bumi meanwhile, having recognize his old acquaintance, Shangdi's proud and steely eyes in Jin, hurried over to her and enthusiastically shook her hand and after much difficulty, He Shen's. Jin felt extremely grateful that Bumi chose to ignore He Shen's strange behavior.

"You went to my father's house once, I believe," Jin said in a reserved manner, her cheeks flushing as He Shen shook and trembled, muttering obscenities against the Fire Nation and repeatedly calling Bumi insane under his breath.

Bumi nodded and said, "Oh yes. Shangdi was your father wasn't he? I thought so the moment I saw you're your eyes. You look like your mother except the eyes. It's your fathers. You have his chin too, I think. Shangdi was a very famous and great general, I've heard. People called him the Tiger for his ferociousness and for his streak of always winning. I do recall I went to Li-Jien along with Wang (he's the earth Kingdom king of Wuyi) to help him defend a neighboring city, Guanglou. He was a very good man but he was a little too stern at times."

"I'm so honored to have met you," Jin modestly said as she gave a great bow.

"As I am to have met someone as lovely as you. I remember you I think. I do believe that when I was there, you and your brothers were engaged in a game of mud wrestling," Bumi said with a smile on his lips. Jin remembered too—in fact, if she recalled correctly, Bumi even joined them in their childish game of mud wrestling. He was a man of eccentrics but he was also a much respected man by her father so Jin believed that he would be able to help He Shen.

"Um…sir—''

"Call me, Bumi," he said dismissively.

"Um…Mr. Bumi—''

"No, just Bumi is fine. Loosen up. As of now, I'm relieved of my kingly duties so no need for the formalities," Bumi said as he gave her a light punch on the shoulder.

Jin winced and said, "Um…Bumi. If you've noticed, my brother…he's….there's something wrong with him—''

"There's something wrong with him?" Bumi said, his eyes widening.

Jin stared at him in a mixture of disbelief and incredulity. Finally, she managed to find her voice and her reason again. She said, "He's….he's _sick._ They've done something to him—''

"Ahh, yes. Well, I see now. Now don't worry. It's not incurable," Bumi said.

"Do you know someone who'd be able to help him?" Jin worriedly asked him.

"Yes, in fact we have a couple of doctors back in our camp right now. I doubt if your other brother would be happy though," Bumi thoughtfully mused.

Jin brightened up and she said excitedly, "Ge Jiang is here?"

Bumi nodded and said, "Oh yes. He came after a few days your father arrived. How pleasant. A family reunion. Though your father and your brother have yet to see each other. Your brother in particular, seems uneager to meet your dad. Are you okay? You look sick!"

Jin paled and lost some color at the mention of her brother and father in one place. She stood there, completely speechless as Bumi continued to rattle of more instances when he and her father had crossed paths and of different doctors and physicians that would be of use to her and her brother. She was trying but failing to understand everything. Too many things were happening all at once. Her brother going crazy, Sozin's Comet coming, her brother and her father in one place….Jin couldn't make sense of it all and she felt herself beginning to unravel.

"There's this man named Cong but he's not a very good doctor so I don't know if—Wait!" he stopped his long rant about all the doctors they had. He spun around and said in a frantic voice, "Someone's missing from your group. Someone very important…"

Everyone tensed ready for him to tell them that Aang was gone.

Instead he faced Sokka and demanded, "Where's Momo?"

Everyone couldn't contain their shocked or confused expressions as Bumi peered down at Sokka impatiently. Sokka quickly said, "He's gone. And so is Aang."

Bumi then took a step back and gave Sokka an extremely forceful pat. Sokka flailed his arms as he struggled to maintain his balance. Bumi said in a relieved tone, "Oh well, so long as they have each other I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. Let's go."

* * *

After the brief introductions they all exchanged, Bumi and everyone else quickly explained how they all knew each other. They were members of a secret organization—an organization that transcended all boundaries of race and nationality. Zuko's uncle was the Grand Lotus. At the mention of his uncle, Zuko's gut twisted and he involuntarily grimaced, especially after he recalled the events that led to him betraying his uncle. He was overcome with shame and remorse and he found himself unable to pay attention to Bumi's story of how he singlehandedly took Omashu back from the Firebenders. Jin likewise was just as preoccupied and she remained restless and absentminded, at least until she was completely assured that He Shen was well taken care of. Her second eldest brother, who had been in a hysterical fit of delusion, was taken from their group albeit forcefully and he was led into a cozy tent where Piandao re-assured her that he would be treated.

"Are you nervous?" Zuko asked her. Jin looked at him and saw that he was paler than usual.

"About seeing my dad? About He Shen? Yes. I'm nervous. I'm scared even. But I have to deal with them somehow," Jin said, her face curdling into such an unpleasant expression.

"I'm scared too," Zuko said quietly.

Jin looked up and briefly met his eyes. It held a wealth of emotion—fear, regret, remorse, sorrow. She suddenly realized that she hadn't been paying any attention to him since she had met He Shen. He was obviously extremely distraught at the prospect of meeting his uncle—an uncle he had betrayed. Jin twined her fingers around his, laid her head against his shoulder and said, "He's going to be so happy when he sees you."

Zuko looked away and he extracted his hand from hers, saying glumly as he went forwards, "No. No, I highly doubt that."

"Well, here we are. Welcome to old people camp," Bumi said as they all entered an enclosure filled with sheltered tents and campfires. People milled in and out carrying weapons or maps. Zuko was suddenly reminded of the failed Ba Sing Se Resistance. A small smile played on his lips as nostalgia washed over him.

Just as quickly, it was put out by the reminder that he had yet to meet his uncle. His smile dropped and he turned to look at Piandao, nervously saying as he did so, "Where...where is he?"

Piandao noting his anxious expression gave him a re-assuring smile and pointed to a particular tent on the corner and said, "Your Uncle's in there Prince Zuko."

Zuko squared his shoulders as he tried to release all his apprehensions. Surely, there would be no warm welcome for him. His uncle would hate him—he would be angered and dissapointed at Zuko's betrayal. Zuko lurched forward, his hand extended, ready to pull the curtain separating him from his uncle. But he paused. He was afraid. He would not be able to take it if his uncle would regard him with such anger and contempt. His pride and his fear disallowed it. Disallowed him to move forward. He stepped back and squatted down, his head throbbing with things he could possibly tell the man he had had betrayed.

He suddenly felt a gentle hand enclosing his shoulder. He looked up to find Jin, staring at him kindly. She said, "Are you okay?"

Zuko scowled. He was obviously not okay. He was upset and he was nervous and if he had the choice, he would be anywhere but here right now. He snapped, "No I'm not okay. My Uncle hates me, I know it. He loved me and supported me in every way he could and I still turned against him. How can I even face him?"

Jin smiled and she lowered herself so she was now squatting beside Zuko. Zuko felt slightly ashamed for being unable to hold his temper. He looked at her and he was relieved to meet her gentle smile. Jin said, "Zuko, you're sorry for what you did, right?"

Zuko looked at her and honestly said, "More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life."

Jin smiled at him re-assuringly and she leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. She murmured as she stood up, "Then I have every confidence in the world that he'll forgive you. He will."

Zuko stared at Jin's confident face. He wasn't very sure of what she had told him. But he couldn't sit out there, waiting outside of his uncle's tent for forever. He took a deep breath, stood up, gave Jin one last weak smile, before pulling the curtains apart and plunging in, his voice hoarse and low as he said, "Uncle."

* * *

The doctors and the physicians who examined He Shen told her that he was in his state right now, because of trauma. Something about how a single experience or several repeated experiences overwhelmed his mental and emotional state of mind and now, he is unable to respond or cope with stress properly. They don't know how to fix him. They don't know any medicine or herbs or tools that could fix him. It was a sickness in the mind and none of them, even the best doctors, had the slightest clue on what they could do. All they could offer to do for He Shen's recovery was that they would isolate him in an environment that was peaceful and free from situations that would induce stress.

Jin was extremely affronted and for a few minutes, she angrily repeated that her brother was not insane and she refused to believe so. But her resolve on the matter, that He Shen was just a little shaken up and not mentally deranged, weakened as the doctor continued to recount to her several despairing news about He Shen's state.

"You see, every little thing sets him off. To be sure, you are allowed to visit him but not so much. You are associated with too many events that have led him….to _this_," Hong, the doctor who met with Jin, told her. He was an old man, bent and stooped, his hair bald and his beard so long that it reached his waist. He was very kindly and he answered all of Jin's distraught questions as patiently as he could.

Jin paled upon hearing the news and she felt an air of despair and despondence settle in her chest. She said, "Can I see him now?"

Hong shook his head and said, "No. Someone already saw him earlier while you were with everyone else. I'm afraid he did not take it so well. Brought on too many horrible memories. Maybe some other time, okay?"

Jin frowned as she tried to rack her brains on who would possibly visit He Shen. The only persons she could think of were her father and her elder brother. They were both there and once they heard the news they certainly would want to gain better understanding of the whole matter. She was about to open her mouth, ready to ask who it was when Hong spoke again, "The man who visited your brother is over there by the weaponries. He's very upset. So upset that he nearly broke all of my porcelain teacups!"

Jin gave him a brief thank you as she looked over at the weaponries section. Before she moved forward, she grabbed Hong's elbow and asked him a question that had been plaguing her ever since she had seen how disturbed He Shen's state of mind was. She looked at him and asked hopefully, "Will he ever be the same?"

Hong shot her a sympathetic look and he said sadly, "I cannot guarantee that. Maybe, with time and patience, he'll get better. He'll be able to have proper conversations and go on public events without breaking out. But he'll never be the same. It will always stay with him. Always."

Jin's chest tightened at the news and she curled her fist as she tried to remain calm and unaffected. Hong gave her a look of utmost pity as he scurried away and returned to the tent.

The doctor's narration of He Shen's condition was devastating—he would never be the same again. The words rang in Jin's ear over and over again, their full meaning becoming clearer and more terrible as she rehashed over everything that has happened. He Shen, the fun loving, free-spirited, carefree young man who loved to sing and play his liuquin was now irreparable. He was broken and damaged by the war. He was yet again, another person that the Fire Nation had taken away from Jin. Jin clutched her head as she tried to gain some semblance of control. She had to pull herself together. The comet was coming. It would not do to be this overly-emotional.

She looked over to weaponries and saw a hunched figure on the bench, fully clothed in the traditional Earth Kingdom Army armor. Jin, at first thought that it was her brother who had come to see He Shen. It seemed more rational that way—despite the fact that her father was here, Jin highly doubted that he would be bothered to visit his second son or be inclined to be upset about it. He would most probably be more concerned with war plans and battle formations than with his children. As she neared the figure however, Jin saw that his hair was long and in knots instead of Ge Jiang's usual customary topknot and Jin was suddenly overcome with the surprising suspicion that it was not her elder brother that had come to see He Shen but her father.

And she was right.

He looked up at her and Jin saw that despite the look of regret and remorse he had in his eyes, his expression was still as fierce and as firm as it had always been before. He did not look like the picture of a man severely affected by his son's dilapidating mental condition. Instead, he looked as he always did—serious, grave, withdrawn and unconcerned for his children's welfare. Jin, who had always taken her father's apathetic and sometimes even violent behavior, in patience and in deference, now suddenly felt a strong anger rise from within her.

"Daughter," he acknowledged briefly. Jin's brows knit together in frustration as she heard his unconcerned tone of voice.

"Father," Jin said quietly. She stared at him, trying to assess whether he really was as upset as Hong told her. He was not.

After awhile Jin said, "So…you've heard about He Shen?"

Shangdi looked surprised at the question but he answered it with efficient calm nonetheless. He said, "Yes. It's an unfortunate thing. I saw him today. He lost himself with his screaming and such. But he will be well soon, I understand."

Jin stared at him expectantly, patiently waiting for him to say that he was sad or that he was angry or that he was upset with what had happened to his son. She was sorely dissapointed, however, to discover that her father had nothing else to tell her. Jin said meaningfully, "I'm really….really…sad over what happened to Shen….I mean…the doctors said that he might get well but…he'll never be the same…."

She hoped that that would prod her father along into saying something similar.

Her father's eyes betrayed a quick moment of agreement at Jin's emotions but it was just as quickly schooled into that of impatience and annoyance. He stiffly told her, "It's no time to feel as such. War is upon us, in case you haven't noticed. Feelings of that sort imply weakness and induce distraction. You can't entertain them especially when we're about to enter into a big fight."

Jin felt the tears slowly leaking from their ducts. How could he just say that? How could he just act as if nothing has happened to He Shen? That it was okay for him to be like this? That it was okay for her to be like this? He sat there looking at her as she tried to keep her temper and emotions at bay. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then she closed it again. Jin didn't know what else she was supposed to tell him and apparently her father was getting extremely bored with their practically nonexistent conversation. He stood up and said, "I have a meeting with the other Earth Kingdom generals in a few minutes. If you wish to see your eldest brother, he is down in the cookeries getting some food as I'm told by—''

"That's it? That's all you have to say?" Jin blurted out, her voice rising in anger and cracking in frustration. Her father looked at her in sudden anger.

"You will do well to keep your tongue and temper, girl! Especially if you are speaking to one such as me—an esteemed Earth kingdom general and your father!" he angrily retorted.

Jin narrowed her eyes at him and exploded, "I will not keep my tongue or my temper for a crazy, old, stupid person like _you!"_

His angry expression morphed into one of utter surprise. Jin, who was now steadily regretting her impulsive act of yelling at her father, continued to ramble on in a shaky voice, "He's sick, father! Can't you see that! Don't you care about him at all! Why are….are….are you…so…why are you just like that? Why do you act as if it's nothing? Why do you act as if it doesn't matter? As if he doesn't matter? As if we don't matter!"

In the many years of Jin's existence, not once had she the courage to speak up against her father or defy him. Defiance, as defined and explained by Shangdi to his many soldiers and most especially to his children, involved any contradiction, any act causing him great displeasure and anger, and any behavior deemed rebellious or against the expectations of the great general. It seemed as if Jin and her brothers lived with this sort of expectance for years and years and whenever they have done something which went against any of his intentions, the price of discipline usually involved a long bout of insults and a heavy spell of beatings. This has caused them to remain obedient, passive and acquiescent, always silently bearing their father's difficult and violent nature.

Having involuntarily chosen the path of defiance against her father that evening, Jin felt a turn inside herself, a metamorphosis that both freed her from all the pent-up emotions she has been steadfastly harboring for 16 years and that terrified her for the consequences that would come from her impertinent display against her father.

"Quiet, girl! You will cause a scene and embarrass me greatly against all the other generals!" her father hissed. His voice was angry but his face betrayed a look of hurt, sadness and disappointment. He was obviously struggling to maintain his strong and steely façade of apathy and indifference.

Shangdi had expected Jin to react with her familiar submission. As a child, whenever Shangdi got worked up into a state such as this, Jin and her siblings would immediately be silenced into ambivalent fear. He was sorely dissapointed with the outcome however.

Jin, for the first time in years, met her father's eyes, an act which she had never been brave enough to do as a child. Her lip quivered and tears threatened to burst out from her eyes with every passing second. She shakily said as she tried to gather her courage, "I'm—I'm not going to take orders from you anymore. I….I n-need to tell you something….you're going to listen!"

Fear momentarily overtook her but she rallied. Strengthened by the insurmountable anger she now had within her, she angrily yelled at her father, unconcerned of whatever scene she was about to cause. She roared, "I have never asked you a single thing for these past sixteen years! I was never angry at you, not once—not when you beat us, not when you turned mother away, not when you willingly gave mom up just to win a stupid battle, not when you were never there for us! And all I want….all I want….is for you to care! Just once! It's not much! I mean how hard could it be to ask us if we were okay once in a while or to be concerned about the fact that He Shen's crazy and he'll stay crazy for maybe forever!"

Jin took huge gulps of breath once she was finished. Her eyes were red and she was shaking violently but she was determined to not cry. She refused to allow herself to look so weak and broken in front of her father. Her father looked stony and completely unaffected. He looked at his daughter fiercely and looked down. The two of them said nothing for awhile. Only Jin's loud panting could be heard.

Her father said nothing as Jin continued to fume. Her rage has suddenly re-ignited her spirits—it had given her the will to fight once again. She was angry at everything. She was angry at the Fire Nation. She was angry at her father. She was angry at the war. She had spent most of her life living in happy denial. She was always willing to overlook the bad side of things and she always managed to keep her temper even and steady even in difficult times. But she couldn't find it in herself to overcome the great anger she felt against her father—an anger which she has tried to suppress, control and deny for the past sixteen years. Sixteen years worth of his neglect, his temper, and his abuse seemed harder to overlook, now more than ever and Jin finally allowed herself to feel resentful—something which she had not permitted herself to feel.

Jin sighed and every part of her shook. She tried to control herself as she admitted the horrible truth in a manner as if she herself was just realizing it as well, "All I've wanted was for you to love me and my brothers, for you to care. That's what I've been waiting for, for all these years. That's what I haven't given up on yet."

Her father finally found his voice as he snapped, "Then maybe you should because I don't care for children who are weak or who are ungrateful and disrespectful!"

Anger overtook her sorrow and fear.

"Maybe I am weak or stupid for feeling like this before a battle! But at least I feel or care enough to know exactly what I'm fighting for!" Jin said hotly. After a second's breath she said, "I'm not a heartless, unfeeling, inhumane person like you who only fights because he loves to fight, because he loves war!"

Jin angrily turned back and stomped off, giving him no chance to reply as she silently muttered, "Ge Jiang was right. There's no saving you or us. I just have to accept it and let go. No more turning back."

* * *

Zuko edgily looked over the whole campsite as he and his uncle waited outside of his tent for everyone else to collect. He had gone in his uncle's tent moments ago and in there, he gave an emotional and sincere apology and much to his relief, his uncle forgave him. Zuko could hardly believe it at first and he had spent the next few minutes debating on whether this was some sort of horrible trick pre-planned by his vengeful uncle or that this was a particularly pleasant dream in which he has finally atoned for all his mistakes. When he had finally managed to convince himself that what was happening was real and that his uncle had really forgiven him, he allowed himself to feel an indescribable rush of happiness.

That happiness however, quickly evaporated once he gave way to thinking of other more pressing problems. The comet was coming. The Avatar was missing. Currently, they had no one suitable enough to fight his father. They were all probably going to lose or die or be condemned to a life of misery. The thought made Zuko sick because he certainly didn't want to have that kind of life for him or Jin in the near future.

He suddenly paled at the thought of Jin. They were going into battle soon. He panicked a little at the thought of her going off in a war zone all alone. He knew that she was perfectly capable of defending herself. But that didn't stop him from being overprotective or being overly-paranoid.

Iroh was right beside him and his uncle noticing that his nephew was deep in thought, decided to pursue a peaceful and relatively comfortable silence. In the course of his nephew's silence, he had made himself two cups of oolong tea and once he was finished he saw Jin, wandering around at the far left. He decided to make his two cups a three.

He cheerfully broke the silence as he called, "Now what is a lovely young lady such as you doing here in a camp of sweaty, gross old people!"

Jin paused from her walking, turned around in Iroh's direction and gave a big smile as soon as she realized who he was. She quickly sped over towards him and brightly said, "Mushi—er, I mean Iroh! It's good to see you again!"

She didn't get around to being used to his real name yet.

She gave Iroh a huge bear hug and stepped back as she said, "You look really good for a sweaty, gross old person!"

Iroh laughed and took in her appearance. She looked tired; her hair was messy, she looked as if she hasn't slept in days and she carried around with her a certain air of depression and sadness. Iroh frowned as he thought of his also worried nephew. It seemed as if everyone's spirits were down. Iroh tried to cheer her up, saying as he gestured for her to sit down with him and his nephew, "And you look as lovely as a moon flower."

Jin laughed and shook her head as she squatted down next to Zuko, "You're just saying that. I look terrible."

"My nephew doesn't seem to think so," Iroh slyly said as soon as he caught Zuko staring at Jin. They all laughed as Iroh handed each of them a cup of tea saying, "In my opinion, a good cup of tea is always pleasing in any occasion."

Jin gratefully accepted it and shot Zuko a questioning look. She was curious on what the outcome of Zuko's talk with his uncle might be though judging from the contented way the two of them were interacting with each other, Jin assumed that they had patched things up between them. She suddenly felt sad. If only, she and her father were able to pull through. She silently berated herself for her rash and impulsive actions of yelling at him. It was wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted as Zuko shot her a bright smile and a quick nod, affirming his newly repaired relationship with his uncle.

"So, how have you been Jin? I have heard some rather….disappointing news about your brother," Iroh said empathetically.

Jin uncomfortably twisted her hands together as she said, "He's….he's a little off. But the doctors told me that they would be able to fix him up. He just needs time."

She didn't sound too convinced with what she said.

Zuko held her hand re-assuringly, sensing the anxiety that underlined her voice. Iroh noticed it too though he wisely pushed through some more lighthearted topics. He said, "Well, I am glad you have decided to do the favor I have asked of you during the Day of the Black Sun."

He glanced at Zuko.

Jin smiled at him, recalling how blatantly she had professed how she would never forgive Zuko ever again. She said demurely, "You're right. He did find it again."

Zuko stared at the two of them completely lost in their conversation. He suspected that they had met beforehand and he was suddenly curious as to what sort of things they were talking about. He certainly hoped that Iroh hadn't told any embarrassing stories about Zuko. He was very fond of that whenever any of Zuko's close friends were within his proximity. But a look from both of their expressions told Zuko that they were talking about something deeper, something more serious about him than he could ever imagine.

Iroh reached out and grabbed Jin's hand saying with a mysterious twinkle in his eye, "Are you proud of him as much as I am?"

The two of them looked at Zuko. Zuko looked at the ground pretending not to notice them or hear their conversation.

Jin looked at Zuko and said sincerely, "Yes. Yes, I am."

Zuko felt more lighthearted somehow, despite the fact that he had no idea what they were talking about or despite the impending doom that was about to descend on all of them.

* * *

Jin decided to go find her eldest brother before breakfast while Iroh suggested that he and Zuko gather some food from the cookeries. Jin didn't really want to be separated from Zuko anymore, not when this might be their last chance to see each other again. But she really wanted to see Ge Jiang for one last time and she had a feeling that Zuko wanted to reconnect with his uncle for some more. They have been without each other for so many weeks and they had to catch up on so many things. Jin didn't want to be in their way.

Jin walked through the campsite asking for her brother. After many inquiries, she finally found him in the armory where he was busily putting on armor on his ostrich-horse and on himself. He looked distracted, worried and scared as he put himself together. Jin was observing him from behind; her body leaned against the pole of the tent.

"So, it's true isn't it? What they're all saying? That Shen has gone….gone…" Ge Jiang trailed off as he fastened his left arm guard.

Jin lowered her eyes and said, "Yes."

Ge Jiang's shoulders sagged but he continued n with his work nonetheless. He wearily said, "I also heard that dad is here."

Jin nodded and said quietly, "Yes, he's here."

He stiffened but continued putting his armor on.

"I also heard that you're with that stupid jerk who nearly got us all killed in Ba Sing Se," he continued.

Jin shot him an annoyed look and said, "Yes, I'm here with _Zuko."_

"I heard the Avatar's gone missing," he said as he fastened his other arm guard on. His voice now intoned a hint of acidity.

"Yeah. Aang's missing. We can't find him," Jin admitted.

Ge Jiang didn't stop fastening his armor. Once he finished everything, he placed his helmet on his head, strapped a bag on the ostrich horse and quickly squared his shoulders. He then turned around and faced his sister. He looked grim and serious as he looked at Jin silently. He exhaled loudly and said, "What will we do now? The Avatar's not here? Doesn't that basically mean that we're doomed?"

"No. We're not. It's not over yet, Jiang. It hasn't even started," Jin said as she met her brother's gaze with ferocity.

Ge Jiang scowled in frustration and said, "Not over? Jin, he abandoned us all over again! Just when we needed him the most!"

Jin looked at him with determination. It wasn't fair to treat Aang in this manner. He was only twelve and yet, they were already asking too much from him. Jin could hardly believe that he managed to keep a sane head despite the fact that so many people's fates were resting on his shoulders. Jin felt guilty for pressuring him in the first place. It was wrong of her to ask so much from him. Maybe, they deserved the fate that they were about to get. Maybe, the do deserved to be abandoned by the Avatar.

Ge Jiang shook his head and scowled as he focused on his ostrich-horse, "I don't care. It doesn't matter. We could win this without him._ I_ could win this without him."

He sounded more as if he was trying to convince himself of a terribly unbelievable fact.

He started to fasten the armor on his ostrich horse. Jin stared at him and said, "He doesn't deserve this Jiang."

Ge Jiang scowled and yelled, "_We_ don't deserve this! None of us do!"

It was at that moment that Jin realized that Ge Jiang was on the verge of tears and that his hands shook badly as he tried but failed to fasten the armor on his ostrich-horse. His forehead was sweating profusely and his upper lip was trembling. His eyes looked dark and his pupils were dilated in fear. Jin stared at him in anxiety, sudden worry that he might be like He Shen in a matter of moments. The only thing she could think of saying was, "You're shaking."

Ge Jiang said snapped, "Of course I'm shaking!"

In a lower voice, he added, "I'm afraid, Jin."

Jin stared at her brother, surprised. Ge Jiang was never one to be afraid. He was always so calm and collected. He handled every situation with cool and he was never one to succumb in fear. Jin had always envied and admired him for that.

Ge Jiang caught her expression and he angrily spat, "What? You think that I'm not capable of being afraid? You think that I want to go riding into the sunrise to my death! I don't want to die Jin! I'm just a kid!"

Jin stared at her brother in sadness as he continued to vent his frustration out by violently tying the armor on the ostrich horse. Once he had finished, he said in a much calmer voice, "I just thought that when the time comes, I'd be ready you know? That I wouldn't be_ this_ scared. Between the three of us, I was always the one who could keep myself together. But I'm scared senseless. And it won't go away."

Jin drew closer to him. She put her hand in his and noticed that he was still shaking. She sincerely said, "I'm scared too, Jiang. We all are. I can't shake off the feeling of death—it's always ever-present and hanging on my shoulder. It drives me mad—the thought of waking up and just dying one day. It sends shivers down my spine, just thinking about it."

Ge Jiang swallowed at the word "mad" and said in a cracked voice, "I can't believe that this happened to Shen. No…on second thought I _can _believe it. I feel like _I'm_ going crazy. The comet is going to make me insane. It's a now-or-never situation that's being held by a twelve-year-old. It could decide things. Decide our fates. Decide our future. I can't bear of the possibility of the Avatar losing and sending everyone back into war again. It's not something I can stomach. Or handle."

Jin said, "I don't think that I'd be able to handle that too."

"I've lost too many things in this war, already," Ge Jiang said as he looked down.

"I've lost a lot of things as well. I don't want to lose anything else. I'm so scared, Jiang. I'm not scared only for myself, I'm scared for you and for everyone else's. I'm scared for Zuko. I don't want to lose him. I don't want to wake up one day to find out that he's gone. But I haven't given up on Aang yet. He won't disappoint us again," Jin honestly said, her voice riddled with so much emotion.

"You really care about that idiot do you?" Ge Jiang chuckled.

Jin gave him a silent but firm nod.

"You deserve better," Ge Jiang informed her sternly though his eyes were twinkling. Jin decided that that meant that he had finally approved.

She shook her head and said, "No. _He_ deserves better."

Ge Jiang sighed and looked at his ostrich-horse. Jin asked him, "Where are you going?"

"Home, Jin."

Jin stared at him in surprise.

"I'm going with the division that's going to liberate Li-Jien. Dad's leading it. He doesn't know I'm in it. He won't be too happy if he finds out. But I don't care. If I'm going to die, I might as well die in my hometown, right?" Ge Jiang said, his mouth quirking into a smile.

Jin stared at him in sorrow. She and Ge Jiang were never the closest of siblings. Their relationship was often filled with arguments and fights and there was never one minute in which they weren't trying to go at each other. It was a little sad, Jin thought, that if ever any one of them were to die today, most of their memories with each other would comprise of struggles and arguments. She was suddenly very remorseful. She wanted to fix whatever discrepancies they had with each other with the last few minutes they had left.

She leaned forward and hugged her brother tightly as if it would fix everything.

He said, "I'm sorry that I'm such a jerk sometimes."

Jin laughed and said, "I'm sorry that I never listen to you sometimes."

"Give my best regards to that jerk," Ge Jiang snickered.

"Jiang! He has a name!" Jin scolded though she was laughing. The two of them weren't crying. It didn't seem appropriate to let what might be their last moment together, be filled with so much sadness.

"Watch out when you're out there," Ge Jiang warned.

"I will. You have to as well," Jin told him.

"Tell Shen that I hope he'll be okay."

"I can't see him. The doctors won't let me," Jin said in frustration. The thought of not saying goodbye to him upset her a little. But she was comforted with the fact that he would be out of harm's way. He'd just be in the tent trying to recover what's left of his sanity.

Ge Jiang shook his head and said, "I tried to see him as soon as I could but someone else beat me to it!"

Jin wisely decided not to mention that it was their father who had visited He Shen and that she and him had a huge argument in front of everybody. It didn't seem like the right time to bring it up.

After a few minutes Ge Jiang said bashfully, "I don't know what else to tell you."

Jin smiled at him and said, "Me neither."

Ge Jiang stared at his baby sister and he saw that calling her his "baby sister" was highly inappropriate. She had grown and changed in more ways than one. Gone was the young girl who saw the good in everything and everyone. Instead, here was a young lady who saw reality for what it truly was—she was hardened and toughened by the world and she was now able to accept some of the more unpleasant facts of life. But he was happy that she had not completely changed. She still supported the Avatar and believed in him and believed that things were going to be alright in the end. This twisted and unusual sort of bravery gave him strength again and his hands finally stopped trembling.

He didn't have a lot of things to hang on to. His brother was crazy. His sister was probably going to die. He didn't have a girlfriend. But Jin's unwavering optimism made him rethink a few things. Her sanguinity gave her things to hold on to, even when there was nothing left for her in defeat.

Maybe he should try being optimistic more often. Take a page from Jin's book. He closed his eyes and dreamt of peace; of the Avatar triumphant against the Fire Lord; of a nice bowl of soup after a weary day of battle; of a nice sleep in bed, free from any thoughts of war again; of He Shen being fine and of him being with his family once again. It gave him renewed hope. It gave him something to hold on to. Something to go back for. Something to keep him from being scared.

"Are you still afraid?" Jin asked him, aware that his demeanor had changed completely.

"Yes but not as much as before. Now…I'm just sad," Ge Jiang chuckled as he looked at his sister.

"I'm sad too. But I guess goodbyes are never supposed to be really happy, right?" Jin said as she attempted to smile.

"Yeah….unless you count goodbyes with our dad! Then that would mean that I'd be extremely happy!" Ge Jiang laughed and despite herself, Jin laughed as well.

The two of them stayed like this in comfortable silence until the gong rang and Ge Jiang finally hoisted himself unto his ostrich-horse. He looked down at his sister and said, "Well, I guess this is it."

"Bye," Jin said as he started to move outside.

Ge Jiang looked at his sister and said quietly, "Goodbye."

Then he rode off to join his division without looking back.

* * *

Jin went outside, sat down and stared at the sky. The sound of her brother's ostrich-horse clopping against the ground started to fade with each passing second. Her eyes felt heavy and she felt extremely tired. She knew that she should sleep, rest herself and prepare well for the upcoming battle. But she found herself unable to fall into slumber despite her wearied state. She thought of too much—so much that she sometimes felt herself shutting down because she was unable to process anything.

Is it normal for someone to be this nervous before a battle? Jin undid her braid and retied it in a firm ponytail, her fingers moving in slow and automatic movements, her eyes absent and deep with thought. She didn't notice that someone had joined her until she heard the rustling of someone's movements from beside her.

She looked up and found Hong, his countenance pleasant and his bearing cheerful as he sat down next to her. He gave her a toothy grin that showed off his rows of crooked teeth before he proceeded to tuck his extremely long beard in a neat corner. In his hands were two steaming cups of tea and he held out one for Jin.

"Goodness, do you ever plan on sleeping?" Hong said in surprise as Jin took the cup.

Jin flashed him a small smile and said, "I can't sleep."

Hong laughed and said "I think almost everyone here feels the same way. It's a good thing that I decided to bring you some green tea. It revitalizes a weary soul you know."

Jin laughed as she took a sip and said, "All of you seem to have this strange affinity for tea."

"I hope you don't mind," Hong said.

Jin shook her head and quickly said, "No. Not at all. I love tea."

"So I've heard," Hong chuckled. The two of them sat in silence for awhile. Finally, after about three sips, Hong added, "I've heard many things about you Jin."

Jin looked at him in surprise. She could not recall ever telling him her name.

"The Great Dragon of the West has told me lots of nice things about you," Hong said.

"You know Mushi—I mean Iroh?"

"Well once you're in the Old People club, you know everyone!" Hong said laughingly.

Jin allowed herself the luxury of a quick smile. It quickly faded and it was replaced by a deep frown.

"He's just exaggerating as always. I don't know too many nice things about me," Jin said sadly.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I mean it's practically my fault that Ba Sing Se is like this! And I mean it's also my fault that He Shen's the way he is now! If I hadn't been so stupid during the Resistance, things might have turned out differently!" Jin said in frustration. She rubbed her temples and said despondently, "I never get things right. I always manage to do the wrong thing."

"That isn't what I've heard," Hong said. He looked at her and said kindly, "I've heard about the girl who bravely led a rebellion and successfully brought down the Dai Li headquarters. I've heard about a caring and wonderful sister who loves her brothers so much. I've heard about a fearless girl who willingly followed the Avatar into battle and perhaps into death."

He then shot her another lopsided grin and said, "I've also heard that you're pretty good pai sho player."

Jin shot him a weak smile.

"I don't…"

"People always told me that it's going to be okay in the end. And if it's not okay…it's not the end yet. We all make mistakes and make stupid decisions. But that's why life gives us opportunities to fix them," Hong told her. Jin shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"I will try to do everything in my power to help your brother. I promise you. You don't need to worry. I'm a licensed professional," Hong said as he shot Jin another smile. A small giggle escaped her mouth.

"That is what_ I_ can do for him. But what can _you_ do for him?" Hong said, suddenly turning on her. He looked at her with a probing eye.

Jin looked down and admitted, "I don't know."

"You don't know or you're afraid that you won't be able to do it?" Hong asked.

Jin looked away, discontented that this strange old man was suddenly here, asking all these questions, making her feel uncomfortable.

"Your brother will never be the same again. But maybe you can fight so he won't change anymore for the worse. So he'll have the peaceful environment he desperately needs," Hong said. He then took another sip and together he gestured for Jin to look around Ba Sing Se—it still looked proud and tall despite its crumbled wall and burned-down houses.

He smiled at her, "And perhaps you could fight to atone for your mistakes."

Jin bit her lip.

Hong looked at her and he asked, "Do you know what you have to do?"

Jin nodded.

"Yes."

"Can you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Finish what you and your brothers have started in Ba Sing Se."

Jin's voice was barely a whisper.

"I don't know."

Hong looked annoyed. He continued to sip on his tea nonetheless and he retained his kindly expression as he said, "If you don't know the answer then I'll answer for you. Yes. You can do it."

"How would you know?"Jin asked him skeptically.

Hong shook his head and laughed as if he understood something Jin didn't get a grasp of. He looked at her and said, "My dear, you've played with the Great Dragon of the West have you not? Not anyone can get that privilege. You need to be pretty good for him to invite you to play."

He then stood up and shuffled away, laughing and chuckling as Jin was left with new thoughts to ponder.

* * *

Zuko was well aware that he should be resting for tomorrow's battle. But he found himself unable to sleep so he contented him with bringing breakfast, setting up the campfire and replaying all the day's events. He was extremely nervous and yet he had finally lost the frantic thumping that had dominated his heart. He was strangely calm and composed, ready to face whatever destiny dictated of him. He looked up when he heard the sound of shuffling and he caught Sokka going towards him. The Water Tribe boy squatted down next to him and said, "You ready for this, Zuko?"

Zuko grimaced but he said quietly, "Yeah. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. You?"

Sokka looked at him in disbelief. He then shook his head and said, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of dying. Does that make any sense?"

Zuko looked up into the sky and said, "Yes. But you know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that I don't want to die and I don't want Jin to die either. I don't want any of us to die actually. Makes me work twice as hard to keep myself alive."

Sokka sighed and looked at the stars. His sarcastic and wry demeanor was gone and it was replaced with a more serious façade. He had spent most of the evening sharpening his sword and shining his boomerang. Suki, as he was told, had gone off to do a couple of last minute drills while Katara and Toph had gone and attempted to get some sleep. Jin went off to look for her brother while his uncle left him alone to do some preparations as soon as they had gotten breakfast together. All of them were ringing with tension. It was almost ironic how calm everything was—a light breeze swept through the campsite, the sky glittered with hundreds of stars, and everyone was going about their business as if everything were normal. It was hard to believe that things would soon erupt into a state of chaos and combat. It was the calm before a battle that his uncle has always told him about. Zuko shook his head. His uncle had failed to mention how horrible it felt.

"This isn't how I imagined it to be," Sokka said in a quiet voice as he unsheathed his sword and examined it.

Zuko snorted and asked, "Well how did you imagine it?"

Sokka shook his head and said, "I always thought it'd be more epic than this. You know the typical before battle scene of glory."

"But it's different," Zuko stated.

"Very different," Sokka agreed. The two of them sat there in silence, waiting for the coming end. The two boys had built a rather interesting if not unusual friendship that often rotated around a sort of friendly rivalry. The two of them had always been adamant in their quest to outdo each other and tonight wasn't any different. Sokka and Zuko sat placidly in their places determined not to show each other that they were afraid.

But the two of them were very afraid. Sokka was afraid of what might happen to his sister, of what might happen to Suki, of what might happen to him and everyone else. He didn't want to be faced with the possibility of an unhappy ending and yet, he knew that that it might happen anyway. It was funny how he came to realize just how much people and life in general meant to him, just moments before he was about to go riding into his death.

"So this is it huh?" Sokka said as he saw Suki emerge from a corner along with Katara and Toph. Jin turned up from the right and she was coming towards them, her expression weary and her eyes tired. It was beginning.

Zuko nodded, "This is it."

* * *

Everyone had finally gathered for breakfast. Jin sat beside Zuko and despite Iroh's urgings that they needed to eat much to prepare for the day, Jin found herself absently picking at her food. For some reason she was shivering. The cold night air stung and it surprised her how she could only notice its cold just now. Zuko noticed her trembling and he quickly scooted closer towards her. He grabbed her hand and raised his body temperature several degrees higher in an attempt to keep Jin warm. Jin smiled at him gratefully though she still felt nervous.

"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord," Zuko said after awhile. For the past few minutes they've been having discussions on what to do and Katara was absolutely against the idea of any plan that involved Aang's disappearance. But time was running out and despite their unwillingness to admit that Aang was truly missing, they needed a back-up plan.

"You mean the Fire Lord," Toph said, pointing her chopsticks at Zuko.

"That's what I said!" Zuko irately snapped. Toph shrugged, completely ignoring Zuko's outburst and resumed eating.

"We need you to come with us," Zuko told Iroh as soon as he calmed himself down.

"No, Zuko. It won't turn out well," Iroh gravely said.

Zuko looked at his uncle in surprise. He turned to look at Jin who shrugged. He looked back at Iroh and said, "You can beat him and we'll be there to help."

Everyone nodded.

Iroh looked at his nephew and said, "Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that I could, it will be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence. A brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."

Zuko seemed unsure of his uncle's plan but he continued on, "And then... then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne."

Iroh said, "No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you Prince Zuko."

Zuko stared at him in utter shock. He said disbelievingly, "Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."

Iroh smiled at him re-assuringly and he said, "Yes, you have. You struggled, you suffered but you have always followed your own path, you restored your own honor. And only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

Zuko's face became grim, suddenly aware of the full bearing of the task he was assigned with. It seemed as if he understood his destiny at last. He said determinedly, "I'll try, uncle."

"Well, what if Aang doesn't come back?" Toph said, throwing out the question that none of them wanted to face.

"Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again," Iroh said as he looked at everyone in the circle.

"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus," Suki said.

"Yes. Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation so that when the Fire Lord falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there, waiting for you," Iroh said as he faced his nephew.

"I can handle Azula," Zuko confidently said.

"Not alone. You'll need help," Iroh said.

Zuko looked startled but after a few seconds of thinking he brightened. He looked at Jin and said excitedly, "You could help me, Jin. We could go to the Fire Nation together."

There was something pleasing about not parting with her. The thought of them fighting side by side made him excited.

But Jin was looking at him with sadness. Zuko's face fell as she looked away and looked down, saying quietly, "A few minutes ago, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. But now I understand what my destiny is."

Jin looked at Iroh and she seriously asked, "You're reclaiming Ba Sing Se when the comet comes, right?"

Iroh nodded.

Jin bowed and said humbly, "Will you give me the honors of joining you?"

Iroh gave a hearty laugh and said, "Of course. I could not think of a more suitable addition in our endeavor."

Zuko grabbed her hand and said, "So you're going to stay here? Alone? In Ba Sing Se?"

Jin stared at him and saw that his eyes were full of fervent passion and disappointment. Her decision has just cemented the fact that they were going on separate ways, that this moment right now, would probably be one of the last few times she'd be able to see him. She tried to keep herself from being too overly-emotional. She swallowed and said, "It's not my destiny Zuko, to fight your sister. It's my destiny to get Ba Sing Se back. To fix my mistake."

"A mistake that I was the cause of," Zuko bitterly said. He looked down.

Jin shook her head and she firmly said, "No. A mistake that_ I_ was a cause of—me and no one else's. I know that now. You have your fights, and I have mine. Our paths have to diverge for awhile."

Zuko shook his head and insistently argued, "You don't need to be here."

"But I do. It's my destiny. It's what fate has given me and I have to accept it," Jin said just as firmly.

Zuko looked away, unhappy with her decision but after a few minutes of awkward silence he looked up again with renewed vigor. He looked at Katara and said, "You're right. Katara, how would you like to help me put Azula in her place?"

Katara nodded and smiled, "It would be my pleasure"

Sokka suddenly spoke up, "What about us? What's our destiny today?"

Iroh's brow quirked and he said, "What do you think it is?"

"I think that... even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet," Sokka said, his face drawn with renewed determination.

"And that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us," Toph said as she slammed both of her fists together happy with what they all have decided.

Iroh then spoke up breaking their excitement, "There is one more thing all of you must be prepared to face."

Everyone looked at him with attentiveness and anticipation of what he was about to say next.

"Are you all willing to die for the cause? To die for Aang?" Iroh asked them seriously.

Though no one was particularly sure of their answer, they all chorused a firm yes.

* * *

It was the time to say goodbye.

Jin watched as Piandao led a couple of eel-hounds towards Sokka, Suki and Toph explaining how this was the fastest way to get anywhere through land or water. Her goodbyes with them were quick and brief but they were characterized with good humor and lighthearted sarcasm that both Sokka and Toph possessed. Sokka and Jin reminisced about their comfortable friendship, their disastrous first meeting, about their numerous misadventures as Sapphire Fire and Wang Fire and their insurmountable inside jokes. Jin told Sokka that she was really glad to have gained his friendship and Sokka likewise, told Jin that he was happy to have met her during that fateful day in Chameleon Bay.

Jin and Suki exchanged hugs and they thanked each other for their company and the many hours talking about weapons, fighting and their boyfriends. Sokka in particular suddenly wanted to know what sort of things they had been talking about him.

Jin gave a respectful bow to Toph and she thanked her for being such a good Sifu. Toph gave her a punch in return that quickly melted into a hug.

"You're a good student, Smiley. Don't forget what I've taught you out there," Toph whispered in her ear as she pulled Jin closer for a hug.

"I won't, Sifu," Jin whispered back.

They all mounted on their eel-hounds in high spirits. They all knew what they had to do. If Aang were to never show then the burden of defeating the Fire Lord must go to them. If they somehow fail, then Iroh and Jin and the order would be waiting for Ozai in Ba Sing Se. If everything does not work out, Zuko and Katara would be ready in the Palace. They all knew that they could never successfully do it without Aang. But they all, also knew that they were willing to die for this cause and for Aang if it was necessary. It was enough for them to leave this world with a legacy. With something to hang on to. With something to give them hope.

"Goodbye!" Jin yelled as Sokka, Suki and Toph's figures slowly started to grow smaller.

She then turned at Katara and the two of them hugged each other fiercely. Katara who had been crying during her goodbye to her brother, now allowed drops of tears to roll down Jin's cheeks as they hugged each other. Their goodbye was a silent but meaningful one. They both knew what they both meant to each other as a friend and as a confidant. Zuko, meanwhile, took the time to say goodbye to his uncle. Iroh offered Zuko a couple of last advices and a few old proverbs, much to Zuko's delight.

Then it was time to say goodbye to each other.

Zuko pulled Jin and he held her tight, almost unwilling to let her go. Jin suddenly felt dizzy and her chest constricted. Her knees buckled and she found herself unable to keep herself together for a short while. It felt as someone had taken her by the throat and choked her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. She loved Zuko. She loved him so much that she couldn't bear the thought of losing him for forever. She loved him so much that she found herself steadily unable to focus on the task at hand. Was she supposed to feel like this? Did everyone feel like this? He might die. She might die. This might be their last moment together. This might her last chance to feel his warmth against her skin, to look into his golden-amber eyes, to feel the caress of his touch.

Since she found herself unable to speak, Zuko said, "Be safe out there. I want to come back to you. I want to come home to you."

Zuko was suddenly aware that he had just referred to Jin as his home. Jin realized it too and she felt unworthy of that title.

"I will," Jin managed to choke out.

"This won't be for forever. It's going to be all over soon. We'll go to the fountain once this ends," Zuko said as he tried to sound upbeat.

"I know we will," Jin said as she offered him a smile.

She leaned forward and kissed his scar, mumbling against his skin, "Don't die. _Please. _Come back to me, Zuko."

Zuko nodded seriously and said, "I will. I promise."

If they could stay like this forever, they would. But the time had come for them to go their separate ways. Jin and Zuko let go of each other unwillingly. Katara gestured for Zuko to go on Appa with her while Iroh took Jin's hand and slowly started to lead her away. Jin started to feel restless. Their parting felt incomplete. Like it was missing something. It was as if she had failed to tell him something particularly important.

Then she knew.

She broke free from Iroh's grasp, turned around and yelled, "Hey, Zuko!"

Zuko paused and looked at her as Jin rushed towards him. She lurched forward and kissed him passionately, her mind dizzy and swirling with thoughts of what she was about to say. Finally, she let go and breathed, "I love you."

Zuko stilled for a heartbeat. Then he reached out and pulled her close and planted a kiss burning with everything he was feeling. He leaned back and kissed her forehead and eyelids.

"I love you too," he said and he turned around and mounted Appa.

He continued to look at her as she watched him ascend and he never took his eyes off from the spot where she was, even long after Iroh had already led her away.

* * *

_Two freaking months before I managed to update! I am so sorry! But I had really horrible internet connection back there in China. Anyways, I know the last scene was probably too cheesy for most of you but I felt as if that's how it would've gone. I know this is boring because all of you are waiting for the final battle. But don't worry. Don't expect for a long wait for the next chap. I'm about halfway there._

_Thanks to those who added this to their favorite stories and added me as a favorite author._

_Thanks to those who reviewed: Suki17, ArrayePL, DRBad39, Shakeru, Kaeso Corvinus, Boogum, Tokes (I'll keep what you said in mind) and Aurellius Maximus._

_Please always take the time to tell me what you think._

_R & R._

_Thanks. _


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